The Top 5 Films of 2012

Now that we’re at the end of 2012, we can afford to sigh in relief that the Mayan apocalypse hasn’t annihilated the world as we know it and perhaps the nerdier of us can reflect on a year of not just news stories, scandals and Balotellisms but also some more fresh, fine cinema. Consensus so far is that it’s been a poor twelve months of films, but they said that about last year and the year before that, and these proclamations usually ignore the really good stuff. For every Jack and Jill there was a Ted, each Battleship cancelled out by Avengers Assemble.

Anyway, said good stuff. I’ve decide to narrow the list down from the traditional top ten to a more concise top five, both in a futile attempt to avoid wasting your time and also because after picking out the best handful the margins began to merge together and create a blob of titles with no hope of organizing them in a way I’d be happy with five minutes later.

So, here are the best, and here’s to another five such flicks in 2013.

5 - Lincoln

A late addition, so late in fact that the damn thing isn’t released here until the end of January, is the long awaited and miraculously tight ‘Lincoln’, which as the title suggests follows the exploits of America’s most famed president. Rather than go for a full scale biopic, Spielberg’s talky play-like drama instead focuses on Abe’s efforts to pass the 13^th Amendment, the abolition of slavery in the United States. Considering that his nation is four years into a war he could cease by dropping the matter, it’s the harshest of moral and ethical quandaries on the titular leader, a debate internal and external ageing him by the day and has the political powers spitting blood in debate.

Unrecognizable behind immaculate make up and voice pitched to an uncanny mimic of the historical legend, Daniel Day-Lewis leads an phenomenal cast as Lincoln, one that also includes Tommy Lee Jones as abolitionist Thaddeus Stevens, Sally Field as wife Mary, Joseph Gordon-Levitt as son Robert and David Strathairn as Secretary of State William Seward. Uniformly superb, the supporting act are the perfect foil to a truly immense portrayal by Day-Lewis, who tones it down and creates a distinctive but wholly authentic and believable characterization as the great man. 

A brilliant screenplay from Tony Kushner (condensed from a treatment covering his whole life) imbues class in the dialogue and even makes room for humor, mostly delivered by Lincoln’s fondness for storytelling and the partisan tactics employed by James Spader’s political fixer W.N. Bilbo. It’s mostly dramatic, however, and never dry while also carefully navigating potential hokey sentimentalism and schmaltz. Great ideals and notions are conveyed without preachy idealism and blind patriotism, instead relying of pragmatic realism and duplicitous means to justify righteous ends.

Taut and at times hugely exciting despite its static environment and lengthy conversations, Lincoln is also Spielberg at his most uncharacteristically modest, to the point one forgets he is behind the camera until John Williams’ perfectly placed notes strike keys of recognition in your eardrums. Giving platform to the actors to recite poetry in motion and bring their own gravitas to history, Spielberg’s respectful approach pays dividends and creates the best possible tribute to a great legacy. 

4 - The Dark Knight Rises

Such was the enormous hype storming towards the conclusion to Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight Saga, both from the sheer weight of fandom and anticipation created by a skilled marketing campaign, that The Dark Knight Rises was always fighting battles. Critically speaking, the film was placed as high as it could be before release and spent the viewing frenzy being pushed back down to earth. Ignore the buzz, however, and you have something quite special, perhaps the most emotionally charged blockbuster of all time.

Retired for eight years following the death of Harvey Dent, Christian Bale’s Bruce Wayne is thrust back in to the deep end and forced to confront his darkness and demons when a new reign of terror assaults Gotham City, led by feared masked wearing mercenary Bane (Tom Hardy) and preaching doom with talk of revolution and uprising. Out of shape and out of his depth, the Batman is broken and dropped into hell on earth and faces the greatest battle of his life to rebuild himself, return and save his beloved city even if it means his death. Luckily, he has a few handy friends and some impressive toys to help.

Beyond it’s incredible set pieces, with the opening plane crashing prologue and first hero versus big bad clash most notable, The Dark Knight Rises takes the trilogy back to its routes and delivers on all fronts as it wraps up one man’s incredible journey and gives it the most satisfying, exhilarating and tear drawing conclusion possible. Though it is festooned with minor issues causing gripes, the slow paced first act is not one of them and the devotion to the main character’s arc, a priority ahead of Avengers Assemble style hijinks, shows not only the love held by Nolan for his saga, but also a healthy respect for the emotional intelligence of the audience.

Great work by Bale, Hardy and particularly Anne Hathaway in a memorably enigmatic incarnation of Catwoman top a fine cast handling strong material well and again treating the story as a serious one, not so much comic book thrills as modern day fairytale, and Hans Zimmer’s soundtrack is one of his finest to date. A huge scale, full throttle cinematic giant of a motion picture, The Dark Knight Rises proves to be the perfect end to a sensational trilogy and was easily the film’s best and grandest action film.

3 - Looper

2012, it turned out, was a truly good year for Joseph Gordon-Levitt. Not content with strong supporting roles in each of the previous two entries, he re-teamed with Brick director Rian Johnson to highlight his leading man chops in Looper, mind-bending science thriller-drama hybrid extraordinaire, and proved himself to be one of the hottest properties in Hollywood. It is 2044, and time travel will soon be invented. Due to the high tech policing of the future, the mob send prospective victims back through time to be dealt with by assassins known as ‘Loopers’.

One of said loopers is Gordon-Levitt’s Joe, happy to execute anonymous souls until one day the 2074 version of himself (played by Bruce Willis) arrives, and Joe’s hesitation enables Old-Joe to overpower him and then escape. Facing the wrath of his bosses and the threat of earth shattering time paradoxes, Joe naturally goes on the hunt while hunted but ends up on the defensive due to Old-Joe’s dark plans. Despite sounding like a gimmick on incredibly fast and thrilling wheels, Looper draws its biggest surprises and quality from its depth.

Showing the same flair for handling extraordinary circumstances as he did in Brick, Johnson takes a show pony of a concept and births from it a strong story that also takes in mutants, loss and great levels of growth and development as Joe cooks up an ambush that leads him to single mother Emily Blunt’s rural farm and further complications. Dismissively taking care of the machinations of time travel, Looper instead focuses on the more important implications of the technology and somewhere within finds the time and space to indulge in a richly constructed, ultimately poignant character study.

Gordon-Levitt, caked up in Brucey make-up, is sensational as Joe, not only delivering an uncanny impersonation of Willis but also bringing a humanity and distinctive identity through the charade, a truly incredible accomplishment and performance. Great scripting, as one would expect from Johnson, is allied to a confident and composed director taking highly original steps while creating his Blade-Runner-esque near future, something which nearly turns the environment of 2040’s Kansas as the wild west and organized crime goons as gunslingers. A breath of fresh air and impossibly deep slice of high concept storytelling, Looper was the year’s surprise classic.

2 - The Master

You always know what you’re going to get with Paul Thomas Anderson; off-kilter, odd-ball and intimate pieces focusing on the stranger members of the human race. With The Master, the voyeur delivered this formula in a complexly brilliant outing that was his best since Magnolia, and possibly his most successful film to date. After the end of the second world war, dispirit drunken drifter Freddie Quell (Joaquin Phoenix) leaves the navy and follows a meandering path towards self-destruction and chaos before an alcohol soaked excursion on to a private yacht leads him to self-educated cult leader Lancaster Dodd (Phillip Seymour Hoffman).

Finding a semblance of balance to his existence, Freddie takes to ‘The Cause’ as it is known, adding his brusque and brash qualities to their philosophical movement. His inability to stay off the hooch or reign in his reckless impulses draws seclusion and misgivings from his fellow members, but Dodd remains intent that Freddie stay on. This unlikely double act creates a brilliantly mounted, subtly told dual-character study for two very different figures who find meaning from a bond that is less father-son and more dog-master, as Dodd’s loyalty to his fascinating friend in only matched by Freddie’s to him.

Often hilarious in a wry, dry and observational manner, The Master takes a light and doleful view on a story that could easily have fallen into the trap of dark indictment of cultism and weak minded surrender to quick witted charismatic leadership figures. While Phillip Seymour Hoffman is typically superb in his role as the complex and potentially duplicitous Dodd, it is Joaquin Phoenix who is the real revelation, giving the best performance of his career in method style as the funny but tragically pointless Freddy Quell, existing within his childlike demeanor and uncontrolled mannerisms and sexually obsessed proclivities. He is the most unfocussed incarnation of Id possible, compared to Dodd’s composed but questionable Ego.

Skirting through a long take shooting style which has a loving affection for the wonderfully portrayed characters of show, The Master is PTA at his absolute purest and most effective, handling the 40’s and 50’s set period details seamlessly and casting an eye not on the controversy of religious sects but on the type of person who falls into them, two figures on very different sides of society coming together and united by unlikely means. Fascinating, deep and insightful, it marks Phoenix’s fully-fledged Oscar certainty comeback and was 2012’s most intelligent and nourishing film.

1 - Life of Pi

It seems that any time a novel is described as ‘un-filmable’, a suitably enigmatic director arrives to prove that it is anything but, breathing further creative flavor into fiction seemingly impregnable. Like Fincher was to Fight Club, Taiwanese master Ang Lee takes Yann Martel’s Booker prize winner and finds the perfect manner in which to put it on screen as an astonishing visual experience doubling as an inspirational and insightful story while incased in the finest example of escapism that cinema has produced for years. The results, again, are absolute gold.

Working from David Magee’s wonderfully scripted adaptation, Life of Pi of course tells the incredible story of Piscine Molitor ‘Pi’ Patel, told in flashback as the older Pi (played by Irrfan Khan) recounts his journey to Rafe Spall’s budding writer. Born in his family’s zoo and obsessed with following the creeds of all religions as a hobby, young Pi leaves India with his clan after the decision is made to sell the various animals to fund a new life in Canada. En route by freighter, the ship sinks and leaves Pi marooned alone on a lifeboat with only a small collection of animals for company. Eventually whittled down to a double act of he and a tiger, named Richard Parker, Pi finds meaning to his hopeless existence by training the man eater and forming an unlikely bond which ensures the survival of both.

The sheer spectacle of Life of Pi alone means it is essential viewing, with Ang Lee’s eye for the beauty of all creatures great and small allied to astonishing set pieces such as the defining shipwreck and cameos from various aquatic and land based beasts. One is utterly immersed in the wonder of creation during the sequences charting Pi’s early life in his native India, gorgeous scenery and immaculate mixture of live and CGI animals the best cinema has seen since Babe, only to be simply overwhelmed by the film’s second act sending the titular hero to sea in a soul searching feat of survival. A spirited, vulnerable and memorable performance by Suraj Sharma as the teenage Pi gives emotional heart to an immersive setting that could easily be dominated by the Bengal Tiger sure to feature on many viewers’ fantasy wish list.

While the closing remarks, in which the legitimacy of what we have seen is thrown into question by the possibility of imagination and inspired storytelling covering over the dark and inhumane truth of unseen proceedings, may soil the voyage for some it is perhaps the film’s masterstroke in ensuring Life of Pi doesn’t fall in to the category of disposable popcorn flick. Instead it takes a philosophical edge, one that explores the potential wonders to be found in nature rather than the ugliness within that great blight on the world; humanity, us. A truly enchanting and intoxicating experience, this is a story full to the hilt with courageous faith and subtle symbolism elevating it from one of the most visually astounding films of the century to one of its most heartfelt, loving and ultimately satisfying. A masterpiece of filmmaking both technically and thematically, it soulfully takes the accolade as the 2012’s finest motion picture.

Great Movie Scenes - The Dark Knight Rises: The Climb

"Why do we fall, Bruce?"

Lost amidst the action and chaotic abandon of The Dark Knight Rises' second act is a sequence that confuddled those not accustomed to keeping time in a modern, chronologically un-linear film, one that at its heart is perhaps the purest and most beautiful of a saga hatched out by a man who's devotion to the whole inspires any storyteller failing in their attempts at a quick fix. I'm speaking of the climb, the blockbuster megolith's spark to a climax that sees Bruce Wayne escape his prison and earn freedom sufficient to rise and return to Gotham to face Bane and ultimately save his city.

It's easy to miss, even for the most focussed of fans. After all, we've grown accustomed to seeing Batman simply knocking down the obstacles set in his path by whatever villain has have had the temerity to face him, sometimes with ease and other times by precision thought. But this is his hardest challenge, the grandest of troubles to overcome. And symbolically, it ties back to the very origins of a hero we've seen from the earliest point of his troubled journey. Fans of the action and the epic may very well scoff, but those who have witnessed a modern fairy tale and associated ourselves with a hero's journey will purr in delight.

Think back to 2005, and to Batman Begins. In the very first scene, a young Bruce steals an arrowhead from his friend Rachel and runs away. This would be the same friend's soul who's death refuses him the yearning for a better life years later. The child Bruce falls in to a pit as he tries to hide from her, and lands in the bottom of a well. Above is a circle of light, meagre hope of escape. Ambushed by terrified bats, he is assailed by fear.
 
That is until a hero arrives, his father. He coils down on a rope, holding a hand of rescue to his young son, offering passage from the despair of his own making. A child indeed, Bruce gladly accepts. As he recovers from his ordeal, Bruce learns humility and returns the arrowhead to Rachel, then is nursed by his loved ones, and his father states; "Why do we fall, Bruce? So we can learn to pick ourselves up". By tragic chance, within days his parents are slain, sparking Bruce's crusade for justice and adventure in to the bat suit.

Fast forward years and years. Bruce has been imprisoned by his actions at the bottom of a pit, a prison where daylight reminds him how close he is to life and the world. But nobody is there to save him, the father he dreams of long since dead. His friend, Rachel his dearest, is now gone forever and has spelt the end for his search for happiness. The city he strived to protect is now in the hands of a crazed mercenary, a monster in a mask, engulfed by bitter hate at loss. The dark visage of what he could have been.

All he fears now is dying here, without being able to return to Gotham. And back then, he feared all. But he knows something; the monsters fear him, especially the scary ones. His father may be dead, but the words and the inspiration are not. So he faces the top of that pit again, looks up to the sky and knows he will not be rescued, the reasons for which have put him down there once more. So, inspired by the words of a man who knows the power of fear who doesn't use them, he finds his advantage.

He finds his strength and scales the rocks, climbs upwards to the heaven of choice and life, and ascends towards life. For the second time in his life, he knows true fear, and finds the only escape is to climb towards the day and the earth above him. So he does, and he finds only himself as the last obstace, the doubt that has made his life not worth living. And bats scramble, escape their nest and ambush him...

...He ducks...but then stops, no longer afraid of bats and of mortal creatures. All he fears is death. Somewhere, a child smiles.

Bruce jumps, and graps the ledge on the other side. The prisoners cheer. The man cries. And Bruce finally wins the ultimate battle within himself. Compared to this, Bane and Talia are nothing.

Why do we fall, Bruce? So we can learn to pick ourselves up.

And how.

Looper - Review

There can’t be much doubt that Rian Johnson simply isn’t used to this kind of fanfare. With his third film, after exceptional though oft-unseen debut Brick and warmly received The Brothers Bloom, one of Hollywood’s rising filmmakers blasts into the big time with the ambitious and meticulous Looper, blockbuster plot framing with the character based sensibilities of an indie flick.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt is Joe, a mob hit man with a very specific remit. This is 2047, and time travel will soon be invented, meaning that Joe’s job is to stand in a field outside Kansas City waiting for an individual to arrive from the future, where he can promptly gun them down and dispose of the body. Technological advancements thirty years down the line have made corpse hiding virtually impossible, enabling our protagonist’s morally skewed profession.

There is a snag, of course, as the job is on a set contract; after thirty years have passed, an older version of said looper will arrive at the execution point, to meet the same fate as the other bagged and tagged victims. The inevitable occurs, when Old Joe (Bruce Willis) materializes. But this time things are different; he isn’t hooded or restrained, and is able to outsmart and over power his younger counterpart before escaping. Due to his time paradox inducing mistake, young Joe is now at the mercy of violent mob boss Abe (Jeff Daniels) and his goons, and has to track down and kill Old Joe before they get to him. 

But Old Joe isn’t content to simply sit things out; he has arrived in the past with a mission. In the future, a malevolent crime figure dubbed ‘The Rainmaker’ is wiping out all of the Loopers, and has already seen to his wife. He intends to find the Rainmaker’s infant-self and kill him. Naturally, young Joe must stop him, leading him to a farm housing single parent Sara (Emily Blunt), whose son is possibly the target. What follows is a mind bending, second-guessing chase thriller with plenty of shock twists.

One skill that Johnson has always seemed to possess is his ability to take a core element which, in the hands of a lesser scribe, would be a gimmick, and then run with it and birth a story of great depth and compelling quality. This comes to the fore in Looper, in which the time traveling future self angle isn’t the real focus of the plot or the film’s heart, but merely part of the set up delivering a far more human, intelligent tale. It creates plenty of fascinating situations and game changers, but ultimately serves as a means to an end. The basic framework may be high concept, but the fully fleshed narrative isn’t.

This is helped by Johnson’s superb screenplay, a witty and darkly humorous tome that toys with many of the common elements seen in time traveling stories but never plays them straight, avoiding lengthy conversations and digressional mind blowing theatrics. Certain set pieces, in particular a subplot involving Paul Dano’s fellow gunman and his own future variant, milks the plot maker for all its worth but does so in the interest of pitch black horror and entertainment, not indispensable machinations. Johnson exploits the time travel aspect, he isn’t a slave to it, and the care he has taken with the story is clear to see, with key elements introduced quickly and naturally to serve as well established Chekhov’s Guns that save on accusations of contrivance later down the line.

Showing the film’s pleasingly dysfunctional character, there’s a strong Western vibe that plays throughout, from the showdown at the farm set up to the sneering gun slinger mobsters and use of anachronistic weapons like pea shooters and blunderbusses. Joe may be an assassin for a crime syndicate, but is treated more like a rider for the local outlaws. This infusion of themes and nuances allows for a character driven, cynically logical execution of a fundamentally nebulous concept, showing Johnson’s cool and confident grasp on the material.

Beyond the filmmaker’s superlative handling, we have a film which technically is top class, such as the brilliant visual eye and attention to detail and Nathan Johnson’s excellently tone dictating score, minimalist yet atmospheric. Key scenes go without music and, framed brilliantly, conjure up a level of tension and unpredictability which have you scrambling forward on your seat. Scenes are edited together sharply, including one excellent sequence showing Joe’s life in China after earning his silver during the ‘present’ timeline, his fading from Gordon-Levitt into Willis.

This is another of the film’s glowing achievements. While Gordon-Levitt’s prosthetic make up may take a while to get used to, his performance as a younger version of Brucey is absolutely phenomenal, a subtle and well schooled interpretation and mannered impression (not impersonation) of the screen icon’s many mannerisms and inflections. Right from the opening narration, Gordon-Levitt has Willis’ speech patterns down to a key, an uncanny and spookily effective echo. That’s not to say that his turn is one long mimic, as the rising star is able to imbue the part with heart and honest characterization which makes him a compelling protagonist. The young actor has already described Looper as the best thing he’s worked on, and by extension it’s probably his best display to date.

Though he could just as easily play himself and coast through the film, Bruce Willis turns things up a notch and shows the acting smarts he possess which rarely shine through in more brainless fodder, bringing embittered and cynical fatalism to Old Joe reminiscent of his career best form in Twelve Monkeys. Strong performances from Emily Blunt, suitably unglamorous and conflicted here, and impressive child prodigy Pierce Gagnon as the mother and son duo bring much needed depth and complexity to an arc which on auto pilot would have aimed for sentimental exploitation. Gagnon in particular is funny and startlingly intelligent as young Cid, the best child performance seen on screen since Hunter McCracken in last year’s TheTree of Life.

While lazy generalizations and misleading blurbs may push you towards Pusher with the expectation of no holds barred sci-fi thrills, you will undoubtedly come out of Rian Johnson’s latest and greatest marveling at the sight of a filmmaker breathing life and smarts into a tired trend and ultimately putting forward a distinctive and memorable viewing experience that transcends various genres and cinematic niches. Intelligent while incredible, haughty but heartfelt, full throttle yet thoughtful; Looper is blockbuster filmmaking at its stylish, nuanced and spectacular best.

9/10

 

Prometheus - Review

33 years and plenty of hushed talk after the series’ nucleus, Ridley Scott finally returns to the world of xenomorphs and interstellar terror with the hyped and hotly anticipated Prometheus, prequel to Alien and a film ditching claustrophobic thrills for near biblical levels of creationist exploration theory and an origin story for humanity.

In the year 2093, archaeologists Elizabeth Shaw (Noomi Rapace) and Charlie Holloway (Logan Marshall-Green) lead a multi-billion dollar expedition to the far side of the galaxy after discovering a series of pre-stone age cave paintings suggesting at the source of life on Earth. With the posthumous backing of philanthropist Peter Weyland (Guy Pearce in old man makeup), the spaceship Prometheus arrives at the star system’s only life sustaining moon, and the crew (including Idris Elba’s captain, Michael Fassbender’s resident android David, and Charlize Theron as company baton wielder Vickers) quickly set about an ancient temple-like underground structure.

Given what genre we’re dealing with, things will not go according to plan, and that’s not taking into account the plans we’re not aware of. Rather than a place of worship, the temple in fact seems to be a cesspool for a strange alien lifeblood, one that doesn’t take a liking to contact, as indicated by the dead humanoids they find on sight, apparent ‘engineers’, and by the series of fatal events which sees the ship’s crew dwindle and the intention of the life hosts revealed as malevolent. Cue race against time to stop apocalyptic end game and plenty of backstabbing double play.

While taking the dead ‘space jockey’ from Alien and playing it into a much denser back story of 2001 style ambition is certainly a great concept of re-imagination and exploration, there’s just the slightest sniff of desperation about Ridley Scott coming back to the cultural phenomenon he birthed. This certainly becomes apparent in light of his recent body of work, a series of underwhelming fare high on visual appeal but low on compelling depth. By stark contrast, Prometheus is a film certainly great to look at but trying to do far too much without necessary clarity in a relatively short time frame.

The result is a film which feels, especially by the end, incomplete. Given that Scott is the granddaddy of Director’s Cuts, this shouldn’t really come as a huge surprise, but the lack of buzz around some kind of huge extended version suggests we shouldn’t get our hopes up. The viral marketing campaign, focusing on Weyland’s launching of the star searching enterprise, is as good as teaser material when you consider that the loose ends left hanging don’t come from a lack of platform for the events of the film, but from within the events themselves.

Like his previous work Robin Hood, Prometheus clearly suffers from writing room rigmarole. A quick look back at the project’s history confirms this, with the infamous Alien Harvest concept cannibalized to incorporate a more cinematic and standard sci-fi thriller drafted by two independent writers, original scribe Jon Spaihts and then Lost show runner Damon Lindelof. A lack of balance in the script comes about from this, as too many elements clash and fail to gel, while scenes bounce into each other at high speed with a lack of natural pacing or flow.

That’s not to say that Prometheus isn’t enjoyable, it’s just tragically wasteful and something of a let down. Of the cast, the more interesting characterizations too often put on the backburner for less satisfying pseudo-science and attempts at archetypal scares. The most memorable character is Michael Fassbender’s synthetic David, a nuanced and mannered artificial person modeling himself on T.E Lawrence and thinly disguising his ulterior motives behind a veneer of composure and politeness. His scenes are often the best, while Charlize Theron is similarly impressive as the equally ambiguous Vickers, a cold and cynical presence who you just know is set to pose problems. Ironically, given his reputation for not putting stock in his actors, Scott is able to frame both characters stylishly and effectively.

Not so the rest, sadly. While she is undoubtedly a quality actress, Noomi Rapace is not given much to do other than action girl protagonist shtick and her character is badly underwritten. Her in-film lover Holloway, played by Tom Hardy look-a-like Logan Marshall-Green, is also inconsistent in his handling, while Guy Pearce’s casting just comes across as strange given the circumstances (he never appears in his normal guise, only dressed up as a 103 year old) and excellent actors such as Idris Elba and Sean Harris are wasted on bland plot-pushers.

The lack of clear reasoning within the story is ultimately what sabotages the good work Prometheus is trying to pull off however, with motives and revelations reached for no visible reason and undercooked plot elements stinking of contrivance. One egregious twist in the second act in particular lacks any logic, and has the viewer question why such clandestine shadow play is necessary when it has no bearing on the plot. For any hope of resolution to these multiple hanging questions, one must look to deleted scenes.

So in short, Prometheus is a film that aims high and fails to hit its haughty and ambitious marks, striving for something more than it can achieve. Elements within the film suggest potential for more, but frankly it has to settle for being entertaining and distracting rather than compelling or memorable on any level; Ridley Scott’s greatness-free rut carries on, a backwards step for inspiration proving just to be a backwards step for reasonable fare.

7/10

Headhunters - Review

When things are hot, they’re really hot it seems. Continuing the trend of high caliber Scandinavian exports (and naturally already billed for an American remake) comes Morten Tyldum’s Norwegian hit Headhunters, a viciously unpredictable thriller based on Jo Nesbo’s novel of the same name already garnering something of a cult following in Western media.

Diminutive Roger Brown (Aksel Hennie) is a slick hotshot leading a double life of desperation, a successful corporate head hunter spending well beyond his means to lavish riches on his glamorous wife Diana (Syvonne Macody Lund). To maintain his decadent lifestyle, Roger happens to steal highly valuable pieces of art in his down time, often from prospective recruits.

This reckless pursuit catches up with him when he encounters highly esteemed business honcho Clas Greve (Hollywood Dane Nikolaj Coster Waldau), a former Special Forces soldier turned CEO who just happens to possess a priceless painting believed lost during the Second World War. Seeing the chance of a life time, Roger cannot help himself. But he quickly regrets it as Greve strikes back and sends him into a head spinning fight for his life, a battle of wits and wills he’s not cut out to win.

Unashamedly putting stylized thrills before grounded substance, Headhunters gains most of its plus marks in the pure entertainment stakes, playing with the audience’s expectations and often dumping them into the same unknowing quagmire as the unsympathetic protagonist. There’s no denying that the often farcical plotting and suspense filled chase are a joy to watch unfold, often reminiscent of a shaggy dog story while also proving to be reasonably thought out and planned with a series of well hidden Chekhov’s Guns and idle foreshadowing.

 

The tone of the film does, however, mean that while we certainly enjoy the action we never particularly engage with it on anything other than a visceral level. Much like in David Fincher’s The Game, each plot twist or set piece, such as a car crash or sickly hiding place, gives fuel for fun but no for any kind of emotional journey that is being undertaken. While Roger is a haughty force brought down to Earth by events out of his remit, it’s hard to really care that he’s being brutally squeezed since he’s unapologetically unlikable from the first moment, despite Aksel Hennie’s fine work.

This cheerfully amoral stance comes back to bite the film’s own rear when things start to become more personal, meaning that an emotionally charged showdown is mostly wasted on viewers by this stage more interested in knowing what spanner will be thrown in the works. It also doesn’t help that the main motivation for the deadly game of cat and mouse is barely exposed, revealed by a single line of dialogue at the end of the second act and never fully elaborated on. Throw these elements together and you have an endgame lacking in intensity.

That’s not to say that it doesn’t work, of course, and the final few gambits to tie everything together certainly please as the rest of the piece did. Though he’s wasted in terms of characterization by a modest running time and lack of real development, Nikolaj Coster Waldau is a strong presence as Klas, an authentically intimidating villain, and Syvonne Macody Lund puts in a subtle turn as wife Diana, bringing a bit more reality to proceedings tied up in the slapdash.

But ultimately, Headhunters is a film that aims, above all else, to entertain and engross as a thriller, and certainly does so throughout its brisk length. It’s simply a shame that a little more substance couldn’t have been mixed with the seductive style.

7/10

Fish Tank - Film Review

While it seems that every week the British film industry trundles out its latest urban despair story, lately heading more into gangsta wannabe culture and hollow shells, occasionally a tale worth spinning makes an appearance amidst the uniform gloom. Case in point, Andrea Arnold’s Fish Tank, a suitably dysfunctional coming of age flick aimed at all the right marks.

Council estate wildcat Mia (Katie Jarvis) is a listless, aimless 15 year old with too much time, angst and anger on her hands, taken to blow ups with friends and pointless fisticuffs with strangers. Days toiled away on cheap cider and unfocussed motion are changed, however, when her inattentive mother (Kierston Wareing) gets a new boyfriend, the dangerously charming and charismatic Connor (Michael Fassbender). Womanly curiosity piqued by his Irish brogue and eccentricities, Mia forms a bond with Connor and through him begins to channel her energies into her only passion; dance. But, given the dysfunction around them, and her particularly destructive behavioral traits, it’s only a matter of time before things start going wrong…

It’s not hard to notice just how much of herself Arnold has poured into this slickly moving, no frills piece, which serves almost life a semi-autobiographical study in cynical ascent to adulthood and responsibility. Each scene passes with an almost daunting level of authenticity, dictated by the irrational actions of people with little to be rational about and stuck in a constant cycle bereft of incentive. When it comes time to escape, Mia ironically is able to make the trip because of the very same raw animal determination which had previously been her anchor.

That’s not to say that Fish Tank is an arduous slog through repetitive, depressive realism. While the protagonist’s life, aptly described by the title, is certainly not a fountain of joy, it still holds a degree of warmth that she has simply outgrown. And the arrival of Michael Fassbender’s Connor certainly injects more fun into proceedings, a childlike glee from little things like car journeys, nice music and fishing trips. When things take a more serious turn, there’s a degree of regret that the more innocent times have passed.

 

The very fact that such a sentence can be used to describe the narrative flow and tone of a film with the content on show is a glowing testament to Arnold, who manages to convey a huge degree of humanity and empathy with a minimum of fuss or visible effort. And, through her words, Katie Jarvis gives the film its spiky emotional core. An amateur and non-actor, Jarvis certainly isn’t mannered with her performance, but the genuine spark visible from first glance is clearly very real, and very beneficial. She is Mia, in essence, for better or worse, fragility barely hidden by crude demeanor and cruder tongue.

On the more finessed front, current Hollywood star Fassbender is equally outstanding as Connor, another honest and ambiguous turn from an actor reveling in excellent, often funny and witty material. While our opinions as viewers may vary on his motives or morality, they will not ask questions one could only put to a person of fiction. It’s this degree of realistic characterization, the kind that allows us to form judgments rooted in reality, which makes Fish Tank shine while other similar fare fail to ever really register.

Don’t expect Billy Elliot-style uplifting emergence, but by the same token there’s no sense that the slog is futile. Taking in real themes of escapism and borrowed optimism, Fish Tank’s core is one open to improvement and taken to leaps of faith in search of greater things, something that Mia learns the hard way. To make one’s life better, you have to take a step and take inspiration from even the darkest of personal events. Even somebody stooped in gloom should be able to appreciate that.

Moving along nicely and displaying a flair for non-flashy heart of character and passion that permeates deeply, Fish Tank is a classic both in its genre and on its own two feet, led by a memorably real leading turn and a filmmaker at the height of her powers, standing confidently on her own turf. A must see.

9/10

Biutiful - Film Review

A trademark of Mexican director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu’s body of work is a lingering feeling of melancholy, unresolved sadness, that while running through each story never becomes the predominant tone. In other words, on paper it may be depressing, but in practice it is something somehow more hopeful.

Case in point is his 2010 drama Biutiful, an expansive personal story following the final days of Uxbal (Javier Bardem), a Catalan single father to two children of small means, resorting to petty criminality and fixing with his brother, as well as occasional work as a psychic, in order to make ends meet. His already Spartan life is given an expiration date when he is diagnosed with untreatable prostate cancer, while the ugly side of his profession rears its head with a pair of tragedies lumbering more guilt on his shoulders. Overburdened and facing mortality, Uxbal must bring his affairs to a close and insure his family will live on beyond his passing.

Playing out more like a novel than a motion picture, Biutiful not only gives a warts and all character study for a desperate, conflicted man but also goes into literal depths with those around him. This includes rounded portrayals for his duplicitous brother Tito (Eduard Fernandez), the Chinese sweat shop owners (Taisheng Chen & Jin Luo) who Uxbal is in coercion with, an illegal immigrant couple (Cheikh Ndiyae & Diaryatou Daff) from Senegal doubling as family friends, and the protagonist’s estranged, bi-polar wife Marambra (Maricel Alvarez).

Subplots that in most films would serve as quick cut conflicts for the anti hero are here explored for what they are, unsavory slices of life aimed at the film’s focus of fractured, un-glossed humanity. While the flip side of this immersive depth and detail is a slow, contemplative pace, it also serves as a looking glass perspective on the kaleidoscope existence of one man’s life. Uxbal, while far from an admirable subject, is not judged by the film’s story but presented as is he is, objectively and intimately.

 Providing sympathy for a morally ambiguous character isn’t a cheap process by exploiting the presence of his two young children (played with aplomb by Hanaa Bouchaib & Guillermo Estrella), but rather with a refreshing honesty and, above all else, a wonderful central performance by Javier Bardem, who received his second Oscar nod for his meticulous and committed turn. Engaging and interesting, his Uxbal is totally authentic as a real man facing very real problems with all the strength and inner inspiration he can muster.

He’s backed by the uniformly superb cast, each underplayed with suitable restraint and subtlety, with the exception of the appropriately nuclear Maricel Alvarez, who’s own inner conflict is portrayed as damaging but not irredeemable. Redemption itself plays a part in the film’s subtext, but is kept there firmly by Inarritu’s close control of the narrative’s direction. This is not a heart string pulling weep fest aimed at cheap sentimentality, and delivers its emotional power through turn of event and not exploitation.

While this does mean a degree of dissonance in viewing, a barrier between audience and characters, it also respects said viewer’s intelligence and moral mileage sufficiently to let you present your own conclusions, whether they be as cold or empathetic. Similarly, certain story points are presented but not milked, such as Uxbal’s apparently legitimate ability to speak with the dead, a crux that could easily have been the film’s major focus. These are all strands, in essence, towards one modest but compelling tapestry.

It is a tapestry, in fact, which doesn’t simply dump you into the doom and gloom that would seem logical, but instead somewhat closer to a state the title misspells. Fully atoning for one’s misdeeds may not be possible, but shelving one’s pain for the happiness of those more important and averting the sins of the past really is a redemption worthy of hoping for. And, with Bardem in this kind of form, Biutiful is a tale worthy of telling, and well worthy of watching.

9/10 

New Town Killers - Film Review

Something of a rarity within a film industry that primarily produces kitchen sink drama and depressingly contemplative drama, New Town Killers takes Hollywoodian action and suspense and places it firmly in the heart of Scottish culture, Edinburgh in this case. It follows young Sean MacDonald (James Anthony Pearson), an unemployed tenement dweller struggling to get by with his house-sharing sister Alice (Liz White).

Things inevitably turn for the worst when it emerges that Alice owes £12,000 to a crime syndicate. No sooner has Sean discovered this than he receives a Faustian bargain from the mysterious Alistair (Dougray Scott). He wants to play a game; if Sean can run and hide from Alistair and his accomplice (Alistair McKenzie) for twelve hours that night, he will receive the money needed to pay off his debt. Unable to find an alternative source of funds, Sean reluctantly agrees...but soon discovers just dangerous the chase really is.

Though refreshing in terms of genre and style, genuinely suspenseful and tense for long periods, New Town Killers is a film which, within about half an hour, begins to raise eyebrows more than it does heart beats. While it clearly aims to deliver the same level of thrills as a mainstream blockbuster, or at the very least a respectable actioner, Jobson’s expert direction is overshadowed by the large gaps in logic within his script and story.

 For every carefully executed, and impressively effective, set piece during the bounty hunt, there is a bizarre contrivance. While entertaining at face value, the film loses much of its credibility by never really caring enough about its own story. During much of its length, certain hints and nods seem to be being presented to us, suggesting a huge twist or a monumental event, which duly doesn’t show up, while the under-developed and frankly obnoxious antagonists seem to possess superhuman levels of smarts and complete control over their surround, traits which are never justified in-story.

Dougray Scott, hamming it up to high heaven with little more than an iota of his talent being worked, plays a character that would appear to a commando-like figure, but in fact is proved to just be a psychopathic banker. And worse still, he’s a psychopathic banker with no real motivation. The final denouement for his character, an un-reveal of sorts, attempts to be chilling and horrifying, but instead is anti-climactic and a cop out. Villains need to be interesting in their own right before they can be manipulated into carrying out illogical acts. The understanding that the ‘chaser’ has been doing this for a long time is utterly absurd in light of the fact that he has no particular skills or connections to avoid ever being caught or killed.

 Similarly, the protagonist Sean’s indestructible body is a source of concerning distraction and perhaps even misdirection. On three different occasions, he leaps to the ground from a great height, and viewers expecting to hear the crack of his legs breaking are duly baffled when he gets up without even a flinch of pain. A severely agonizing injury picked up in the film’s climax is quickly forgotten about, and even when he does end up in hospital he sneaks out with no indication of hurting. The belief that such things can happen because this is fiction is entirely a fallacy, and a lazy way to get the character out of a tight situation when a little logical deduction would have reached a far more satisfactory, merited conclusion.

While ultimately hollow and based on a screenplay that badly needed some serious redrafting work, New Town Killers does at least boast some positives. As already mentioned, Jobson shows real flair and talent when it comes to racking up the tension, and there is taut, fast paced entertainment to be had from the hunt. He also uses his city well, with Edinburgh’s distinctly historical look well exploited and locations chosen well, creating a great backdrop to the story.

 In the acting department, Control’s James Anthony Pearson is excellent as Sean, displaying genuine fear and emotion as the squeezed protagonist, although noticeable slips back into his native Rochdale accent can be distracting. Liz White, playing Sean’s sister Alice, and Charles Mnene as his friend Sam, are also exemplary, giving natural and convincing performances. Dougray Scott, as already mentioned, coasts through proceedings with natural cool and sinister glares but clearly, and sadly, doesn’t invest much in the material, while Alastair MacKenzie, as the villain’s colleague, seems to be giving a decent conflicted turn which is lost underneath a pointlessly put on English accent, making one wonder why a Scottish actor in a Scottish set film would play their character as English when there doesn’t seem to be any call for it within the story. At least Pearson has an excuse.

Where New Town Killers really hits a nerve, however, is that there is no reason why it can’t be any better than it is. An attempt to throw in some subtext about class snobbery and social divides is commendable, but also half baked, and has no bearing on anything other than referencing the fact that the antagonist is poor while the protagonist isn’t. Likewise, the film seems to be heading down an interesting avenue, then turns away and promptly peters out into disappointment. With a little more thought and investment, it could have been both highly watch-able AND intelligent. My listing of the film’s plus points that way wouldn’t be an attempt to offer a consolation prize.

However, unfortunately it isn’t better than it is, and what it is is an occasionally decent but ultimately wasteful and flat movie-going experience of wasted potential and little real re-watch value. Perhaps worth a look in, but one might just despair at the lack of sense on screen.  

 5/10 

The Dark Knight Rises - Film Review

Drawing to an end an insanely successful trilogy, both commercially and creatively, is Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight Rises, the emotionally charged finale to a seven year saga that has forever redefined the Batman legacy and the comic book genre. That it is one of the most ferally anticipated films of all time is little surprise.

Eight years after the Joker's campaign of terror and Harvey Dent's descent into madness, Gotham City finds itself in an unfamiliar state of peace. 'Retired' from his double identity as the Batman, Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) is now a recluse, living out of the public eye within a wing of the newly rebuilt Wayne Manor, and allowing trusted confidants Alfred (Michael Caine) and Lucius Fox (Morgan Freeman) to run his business affairs. Such is the serenity that the Mayor plans to get rid of the seemingly paranoid police commissioner, Jim Gordon (Gary Oldman), in the belief that the bad times are over.

Enter Bane (Tom Hardy), universally feared mask wearing mercenary and terrorist leader, who exploits the lax attitude of Gotham's higher ups to build up an underground army within the city streets, and forging faustian alliances with various corrupt stokebrokers, his motive seemingly financial. When Gordon witnesses this growing force personally, and the need to act becomes apparent, Bruce finally puts the suit back on and fights off the attention of the Gotham PD in a bid to take down this new threat to the city. It is a hopeless cause, however, as Batman underestimates just how powerful, and how duplicitous, his enemy truly is. He is quickly overwhelmed.

Crippled and imprisoned, he is forced to face the same plight his nemesis once took, all while witnessing the chaos Bane inflicts on his cherished metropolis, holding it hostage while driving the people to privation and revolution, truly the greatest ever threat to its existence. Seemingly beaten, Bruce must rise and return, and aided by fellow vigilante Selina Kyle (Anne Hathaway), influential businesswomen Miranda Tate (Marion Cotillard) and determined, Batman-phile cop John Blake (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), take up a battle which he surely has no hope of winning. But he must.

After two films in which Gotham City is built up and given a character of its own, Rises sees Nolan gleefully tear it to shreds in astonishing style, with Bane accomplishing the levels of sheer anarchy, chaos and inhumanity underneath the skyscrapers that even Rhas al Ghul or the Joker couldn't bring to fruition. The sheer spectacle of the film is earth shattering, an absolute visual feast. No longer is Batman's charge simply under threat, it is now imploding, slowly being torn apart from within to near biblical degrees. Maintaining his reputation for skimping on CGI, the gritty reality of this wantom destruction creates a brilliant backdrop to a taut, truly epic story. The environment, vaguely remiscent of Escape From New York, adds layers to the foreground plot.

It also hosts some amazing carnage, with action sequences and set pieces at turns thrilling, satisfying and jaw-dropping. Any worries that trailer binges would cause desensitisation to the action can be quickly dismissed, since seeing the statium destruction, or the debut of 'the Bat', takes on a whole new level of adrenaline surging excitement due to the context. The magnificent prologue, an audacious midair hijacking and prisoner grab, is an unforgetable experience in front of a cinema screen. Just when things are looking to go over the top though, they are reigned back in. One chase involving the batpod almost seems unfinessed due to a strict adherance towards, if not realism, certainly pragmatism. Nothing big and shiny exists without due purpose.

But it's the story that Rises' heart beats for, and given that this is the conclusion to a character driven trilogy, naturally the impetus is the final leg of a marathon hero's journey. The film finds Bruce Wayne in bad wear, believeing that his fight is over and that he no longer has a purpose. Beckoned back into the fold, he is pushed, then squeezed, then broken. This time he truly is in his darkest hour, his lowest ebb. And it's from here that he needs to find his greatest strength. While not original on paper, it is marvellous in execution, helped by a great performance from Bale, who brings a whole new pallete for Bruce to play with. Even in Batman Begins, we didn't see such levels of vulnerability, weariness or hopelessness. Various callbacks to his origins, both highly satisfying for a fan and very effective practically, ensure we never forget just how he has got this far. This is coupled by a mood of the end, both for us as viewers and for the characters. The dread in the air, and growing sense of mortal peril, is palpable, particularly during the breathless final act.

Nobody is allowed to let up for this one, with Freeman, Caine and Oldman producing their finest work of the three films, and all of the newcomers impressing. Tom Hardy, a man who is surely a household name by now, is suitably enigmatic and intimidating as Bane, bringing the same blistering energy he showed in Bronson, coupled with a pathos and humour that ensures that he goes well beyond the 'man in a mask' moniker. The voice, much derided, gives him a unique, nebulous identity, as well as a hellish quality.

Despite much concern over her casting, Anne Hathaway justifies her inclusion and does so much more with a complex, layered and compelling turn as Selina Kyle, the never quite dubbed Catwoman. Seductive and dangerous, sharp edged and flirtatious, she never risks comparisons to Michelle Pfeiffer's incarnation, nor does she ever do anything but command the screen. Selina is not some upstart, or an out of her depth wannabe, she's a serious threat, acrobatic and with fighting smarts, a worthy adversary and a vital ally. These aren't informed abilities, it comes from the confidence and assuredness that radiates from her every move. For an actress best known for low key drama and comedy, this is a great indication of huge, versatile talent. Heath Ledger was the wildcard casting choice that paid off royally for The Dark Knight, and Hathaway ensures this becomes something of a tradition in Rises.

Continuing his own Hollywood ascent, Joseph Gordon Levitt is also very impressive as Blake, a determined and street smart beat cop who quickly earns Gordon's attention and a swift promotion. From his first moment on screen, Levitt screams of authenticity with a tougher, more driven aspect than we've seen before. His part in the story is as much as a secondary antagonist as it is a plot chess piece, and Levitt carries such responsibility with ease.

Marion Cotillard is her usual reliable self as Miranda Tate, although its in the final stages that she really comes to the fore, albeit briefly, and to say she is in important figure would be the understatement of the decade. Nolan also makes sure to tone down the 'load and loads of characters' trope that was prevalent in Rises' predecesor, a neccessity given the full throttle drive that the story takes up after a slow burn beginning, although there is room for a couple of surprising, delightful cameos from familiar faces.

Although he has a portfolio packed with classic soundtracks, Hans Zimmer is on the top of his game as he takes up solo duties (James Newton Howard drops out), and the score behind each scene in Rises is possibly his finest work, notably taking different turns from the trilogy's familiar audio beats and helping give the film a very different, very significant tone. Wally Pfister ensures that every frame is a work of art in cinematographic terms, hardly surprising given his well established brilliance.

It's a great shame, in truth, that a film as described as such can have any flaws at all, but sadly it cannot be claimed that Rises is perfect, no matter how tempting it is to try. The term 'plot-hole' is thrown around liberally by many a cynical film fan, and it would be hyperbole to claim that such gaps in logic exist here, however certain contrivances and quick fixes exist, mostly within the dialogue, which occasionally jar, while the big twist in the climax perhaps comes a little late, diluting its impact. The ending, while fitting and supremely handled, could perhaps do with more closed doors and less depicted resolutions.

But notably, many of the criticisms aimed at the film are in fact the complaints which hold little water. The claim, for instance, that the film is too long is a fallacy in of itself, since length is of little importance as long as there is enough story to fill it, and in Rises' case there certainly is. While it may scale three hours, these aren't dwindled with, and any incisions to the plot would have a devastating impact. Simply put, this is a film that NEEDS to be long. And, immerssed in the world Nolan created, you will not notice those many minutes skipping past you.

So ultimately, The Dark Knight Rises is a film of truly superior quality, taking huge gambits with the saga and seeing them pay off handsomely with a near apocalyptic tone of danger and dread, imbueing a fully loaded, high speed piece with dramatic thrills and stunning story arcs. With this, the trilogy closes, and we are done with the best realised Bruce Wayne put on screen, left with amazing memories of the three films that redefined so much.

But, superior is not flawless. As much as I'd love to give Rises a perfect 10, I simply cannot. Instead, I choose to see it as a near-masterpiece, a great, brilliant, unforgetable final chapter that is only a few crucial flaws and a decisive re-write away from pure genius.

Still, with criticism like that, who needs praise?  

9/10

Dark City - Film Review

A mindbending and surreal tour-de-force from Crow director Alex Proyas, Dark City is a hardcore sci-fi high concept  which, despite being mostly forgotten by the viewing public (apart from an avid cult following), still stands tall as an absolute gem from the late nineties, one with all the makings of a sleeper classic.

The titular city is a strangely anachronistic, claustraphobic metropolis that never sees daylight, populated by citizens who on mass are rendered unconscious each and every time the clock strikes midnight. One of said inhabitants is John Murdoch (Rufus Sewell), who wakes up in a hotel room bathtub with no memory of who he is, the only clues to his origin being a suitcase apparently his, and a dead girl in the next room. Receiving an urgent call from mysterious, frantic psychiatrist Daniel Schreber (Kiefer Sutherland), John makes a quick getaway before the arrival of a troupe of sinisterly tall and pale men in period regalia.

Apparently having been the subject of an experiment gone awry, John quickly discovers that he is the prime suspect in a series of murders being investigated by grizzled Inspector Frank Bumstead (William Hurt), and has to act quickly to avoid the long arm of the law and the strange men who stalk him (led by Richard O'Brien's Mr Hand), all while trying to piece together his fractured existence, which apparently includes estranged wife Emma (Jennifer Connelly).

The film noir grounding is soon revealed to be a front, as John finds that a group of unseen, technologically superior keepers are secretly manipulating the lives of the city dwellers when they sleep, and that he now possesses the power to fight back against the dark visitors, who, it turns out, are not quite human...

 Displaying the visual flair and relentless pace that made The Crow such a surprise hit, Alex Proyas here displays a smart and mature sensibility in approaching a story that is, for lack of a better term, nightmarish. The dreamlike quality of the piece, enhanced by a brooding, overbearing atmosphere and a general sense of loneliness and anxiety, is one of the main reasons that Dark City is quickly able to hook you in, dragging your attentive stare towards its various dramatic turns, carpet pulling twists and breathtaking setpieces. Set pieces, incidentally, which have aged well.

While the 'unwitting experiment subject in a rat's maze' plot is so heavily exploited that it deserves its own IMDb page, Proyas is here to able to give it a very original and refreshing spin. The plot kicks off like a hard boiled story from Raymond Chandler or Dashiel Hammett, a man with no identity caught up in a web of intrigue, but this ruse, when flipped on its head, proves to be both entertaining and also excellently handled, a surreal but great interpretation of the genre. In fact, Dark City serves to splice paranoid science-fiction and mythos with said noir thriller set up that, somehow, satisfies both criteria. The film can be viewed as a Lynchian like hour and half long lucid dream put on to film, an unconventional psychological thriller and also as an engrossing sci-fi trip.

Considering its restless pacing, the characters are rushed to our attention, though they are well played by an offbeat, suitably eccentric cast. Rufus Sewell, in a rare major leading role, brings burning intensity and traumatic identity confusion to John, although he often struggles with the rigours of maintaing a rough American accent. Meanwhile, Jennifer Connelly is alluring and innocent as supposed wife Emma, William Hurt provides weary savvy as the disillusioned cop, and Kiefer Sutherland goes off road with an against type and creepy rattish performance as the key to the truth, Dr Schreber (named for a real 19th century psychologist and esteemed writer who was himself committed). Ian Richardson is typically reliable as the stalkers' leader figure, while Richard O'Brien steals scenes as the unsettling and nebulous Mr Hand, who undergoes some radical personality changes after being imprinted with John's intended personality.

 
Stunning in its appearance, gloomy yet poetic, the city with no name is almost a character in itself, taking the trope 'Crapsack World' to a whole other level. Visually speaking, Dark City is an absolute feast, matching such iconic vistas as Blade Runner and Metropolis. While the film may not exactly provide moments to pause and reflect on the sights around us, the impressions left behind are highly memorable, and cinematography is just one of the main technical fields that the movie gets spot on. One of the biggest twists, arriving just before the climax, features a sequence which is positively jaw dropping.

To pack so much into a relatively modest running time is Proyas's greatest achievement here, managing to evoke various philosophical questions and musings while at the same time providing a breathless thrill ride that resolves itself logically, happily and existentially. One second it is able to examine the human condition, questioning what truly makes us who we are, before quickly taking a segue into chase scene action or quiet, contemplative drama. Not a single frame is wasted, quality over quantity, and the sheer energy behind the work is almost unbearable in its tension. Not since Terry Gilliam's Brazil has a film conjured such an overwhelming, heavy sense of madness and humourous despair. That this film did not act as a springboard for Proyas's career (his underwhelming resume since 1998 includes garbage such as I, Robot and Knowing) is perhaps a greater mystery than those presented in the film.

Hugely engrossing in its storytelling, with the kind of atmospherics and underlying tension that huge budgest simply cannot buy, Dark City takes surreal action to a whole other level, wrapped up in beyond our world significance and psychological study while positing as both a noir thriller and sci-fi horror. Starkly original, highly addictive and hugely memorable, it may not be proclaimed as one of the science fiction greats, but it truly deserves to be.

9/10

Dexter - A Review & Reflection

On 30th September, Showtime's mammoth hit Dexter will return for its seventh blood soaked year, drawing us closer to the conclusion of the journey led by TV's favourite serial killer. Indeed, Season Eight will be the final chapter of a sprawling, psychologically overwhelming and viscerally unforgetable show that has truly pushed the boundaries of both network television and the morality of viewers.

Based loosely on the series of novels by Jeff Lindsay, Dexter Morgan (Michael C Hall) is a top notch blood splatter analyst for Miami Metro Homicide, a forensic investigator working with the local police force, who just happens to be a ritualistic multiple murderer. But, as always, he's a killer with a difference, with a code in fact. He only kills other killers, murderers who have slipped through the net of justice. Displaying predatory instincts and knowingly ironic righteousness, Dexter uses his retributive executions as an outlet for his "dark passenger", a lingering psychotic aspect to his personality that would otherwise overwhelm him.

While sounding gimmicky on paper, Dexter has earned its status as one of TV's hottest properties not by indulging its avid fans with macabre blood lust, but rather by giving us a rounded, sublime character study of a man who we would otherwise run away from screaming. With each Season intricately detailed and balanced, giving the sense of a grand novel with each episode covering a chapter, the narrative focus developed by show creator James Manos Jr creates a cinematic, empathetic saga really delving into the human condition and finding one's true self.

It's a party I arrived at late, having finally given in it to repeated assurances of its excellence, and the series has had me hooked ever since, to near obssessive levels. A nightly viewing of an episode became a double bill, then quickly a triple bill, forsaking sleep for a little more of Harry's Code and Darkly Dreaming Dexter's Deeply Deplorable Doings. Eight weeks after watching the pilot, I witnessed the ultimate 'Oh Crap' moment that is Season Six's cliffhanger conclusion. Over that short time frame, I marvelled, laughed, cried and realised I was watching something very special.

With the next installment on the way, now seems a good time to reflect, to look back at the magic that has unfolded, and to really isolate and name the strengths that have made Dexter such essential viewing. I'll review each Season individually, speculate over what we can expect in seven, and take a look at some of the show's finest moments.

BE WARNED, SPOILERS.

The Set Up

Season One, loosely following the story set down by Lindsay's Darkly Dreaming Dexter, introduces us to the titular character in his own words, courtesy of a supremely scripted voice over allowing us into the mind of the killer. He's nestled in the heart of Miami's police department, exploiting the miserably low conviction rate the city has to offer to get fresh kills and samples for his blood slide collection. His personal life is effectively concealed by his tentative relationship with the damaged Rita (Julie Benz), fresh out of an abusive marriage, and by extension her two young children, Astor (Christina Robinson) and Cody (Preston Bailey).

On the workfront, Dexter is a mostly popular figure, the source of support and professional inspiration for foul mouthed sister Debra (Julie Carpenter), a rookie officer looking to make the move from Vice to Homicide with her brother's help. He's also the subject of unrequited advances by his boss, department head Lieutenant Maria LaGuerta (Lauren Velez), an insatiable political animal, as well as being a colleague/friend to the amiable, bear like Detective Angel Batista (David Zayas) and fellow lab geek and general sex pest Vince Masuka (C.S Lee). The one snag is Sergeant James Doakes (Erik King), the macho and aggressive ex military man who is the only one who sees something off about our protagonist, and watches him closely.

As each story pans out, we learn more about his background via appropriate flashbacks to his youth, in which his foster father Harry (James Remar) sees the darkness inside of his adoptive son, and begins to train him, instilling in him a code to follow. The top two rules: never kill an innocent, never get caught. Harry is a massive figure in Dexter's life, even after his death, and these moments are crucial in his make up.

Season One - Ice Trucks & Blood Rooms

Angel Batista (David Zayas) and Dexter (Michael C Hall) examining the handiwork of the elusive Ice Truck Killer

The Plot

Everything is pretty serene at Chez Dex, until the arrival of a new, eye catching murderer quickly dubbed the Ice Truck Killer, who is gleefuly draining the blood of various prostitutes and leaving their carefuly cut up remains in public to be found. Fascinated by the method and audacity of his rival, Dexter is naturally delighted when the killer begins communicating directly with him, playing games and leaving calling cards in his fridge. This is ultimately the greatest of thrills for him.

The season follows both Dexter's personal exploits, with victims ranging from a manipulative psychiatrist to a young sociopath in waiting, and his interacting with the unseen ITK, who's interest in the protagonist grows stronger and more intrusive with each step, suggesting a personal link. While Miami Metro try to catch the same killer, they don't find the same clarity, with a couple of exonorated suspects along the way and more than a few PR disasters. Debra finally earns her spot in the bull pen of the department, though she has to deal with being the chew toy for LaGuerta, while also trying to balance out her work with a decent social life. This takes a turn when she meets Rudy Cooper (Christian Camargo), a prosphetics specialist who she meets through one of the killer's victims.

Dexter is traumatised by the room of blood.

Meanwhile, Dexter finds himself dealing with problems at home when Rita's ex, Paul (Mark Pellegrino) is released from prison and comes back into the picture, ostensibily seeking custody for his kids. The breakthroughs in his personality caused by his visits to a manipulative psychiatrist he ultimately offs are set back by doubts over Harry's honesty regarding Dex's past. This crisis is exacerbated by the heated legal battle between Paul and Rita taking place just as the ITK returns, creating a room of blood, a crime scene just for Dexter, which haunts him and forces him to confront a repressed, traumatic memory. Discovering the truth about his origins, and the horrific incident which birthed his dark passenger, Dexter finds the key to unlocking the truth about his nemesis.

It comes too late, however, as the now unmasked monster takes himself a prisoner for the final endgame, one which finally reveals the connection between the two, and pushes our hero into making a truly impossible choice

As a lone slice of fiction, Season One truly is a work of art. Featuring a meandering but focussed plot with plenty of room for sub-stories and tangents, its singular narrative manages to accomodate both an astonishing A-Plot which slowly burns and then blasts into life halfway through and episodic B-Plots which entertain, amuse and horrify. Many of Dexter's most memorable kills are unrelated to the main story, but feel natural and organic. Watching the season is alot like watching a twelve hour long film.

Rita, Harry, Dexter, Doakes, Deb, Angel & LaGuerta

It sets the bar incredibly high, with the promise of the pilot episode more than lived up to. Casting is top notch, using actors not commonly known to most TV goers to avoid distracting performances, while also getting perfect performances from each. It helps that the writing is so specatacularly good, with gentle doses of gallows humour and sweet, smile inducing moments. Each character is given a distinctive voice and personality, fully justifying their actions, but at the same time all are allowed to grow and develop, particularly Dexter and Deb, who change progessively and not for conveniance sake.

It also helps that, again due to the scripting excellence, characters who on paper sound unlikeable, such as Doakes and LaGuerta, are eventually able to draw sympathy from the viewer. LaGuerta's political battles with Captain Matthews (Geoff Pierson), her superior, are fascinating in how they develop, and her demotion in the final stages puts us firmly on her side. Everyone is given time to shine, and not a single player in the game is a passenger.

This means there is a rich background for the figurehead, Dexter himself. Michael C Hall has created an unforgetable protagonist, one who is endearing and charming in his wit and ideology, despite being terrifying in his intent and method. Though he's an admitted monster, we never see him as an antagonist, and his emotionally stunted nature is both funny and painful at the right turns, while his exploration of his born in blood past is heartbreaking and rivetting. His chemistry with castmates feels organic and true, while utter devotion to the character ensures we are watching Dexter Morgan, not Hall, as we go from episode to episode.

The progression and eventual escalation of Dexter's dealings with the Ice Truck Killer, going from almost flirtatious to ultimately hurtful, are sublimely constructed and paced, with enough teasing to ensure complete attention followed by breathtaking set pieces to alert us to something hugely significant taking place. The revelations, first the 'who' and then the 'why', are both surprisingly shocking and then both hugely saddening and tragic. The finale, in keeping with this, is an emotionally packed encounter, a defining moment. After so many hours leading us here, it is a fitting conclusion.

And, of course, a few ends are left deliberately loose, leading us into...

Season Two - The Hunt & New Dex

Dexter is forced to question himself in his pursuit of freedom.

Things aren't so good for Dexter. Although his relationship with Rita and the kids gets stronger with every day, his spending more time with them means he hasn't killed in over a month. The desperate urge to get back to his calling his made worse by Doakes, who is now permanently following the protagonist after Dexter's suspicious involvement in Deb's kidnapping, and by Brian's memory which haunts his every step.
Even when he grabs a victim, he can't go through with it. A second effort sees a gangster escape from his table. Things can't get any worse...but then they do, when Dexter's graveyard of victims at the bottom of the sea are discovered, leading to the FBI arriving on the scene to investigate, led by legendary Serial Killer Hunter Frank Lundy (Keith Carradine).

Though able to release the memory of his brother and end his killing rut, the truth about Dexter's framing of Paul is revealed, and he is forced to pretend he is a heroine addict to avoid further suspicion from Rita, pushing him into therapy. His inital reluctance is overcome thanks to the enigmatic Lila (Jaime Murray), who quickly establishes a connection with him and then becomes his sponsor. Speaking through the facade that he is an addict, Dexter is finally able to voice his feelings on the dark passenger's influence over him, and discovers strengths and possibilites within himself. He even goes as far as to track down and confront the man who killed his mother. This action pushes him into the arms of Lila, and by misunderstanding cause the breakup of his relationship with Rita. A brief truce with Doakes is smashed, and he comes after him harder than ever, while Rita's desire to keep Dexter in the life of her family draws out Lila's dark side.

Doakes' efforts to nail Dexter for the Bay Harbour Butcher case backfire, and he himself is fingered and hunted, leading him back to Dexter himself, but this again goes awry as he is apprehended by Dex and locked in a cage, ready to be delivered to the FBI. But then the doubt creeps in again, and Dexter even contemplates turning himself in as Doakes tries to form an understanding between them, and act in the role of confessor. Unwilling to lay down without a fight, Lila forces her way back into Dexter's life just as he's trying to rebuild his relationship with Rita. Attacked on all sides, Dex faces a seemingly impossible battle to keep all around him intact.

Lila (Jaime Murray) proves to be as much of a threat to Dexter as the FBI hunting him.

Defying convention and making a bold and brave move, Season Two turns the show's focus 180 degrees, making the protagonist the antagonist and leading to a contemplative, though eventful, aside. In essence, the big bad of the season is Dexter himself. And, in keeping with the panache of the first season, it proves to be both highly successful and wonderfuly executed, allowing Dexter to explore ideas and chains of thought he's never considered before. It also shows us new sides of him, with a more animalistic Dexter being both jaw dropping and strangely satisfying as he embraces emotions he's for years kept tightly penned up.

Once again the writing and Hall's perfomance make this dynamite viewing, completely natural and understandable. Dexter's decision to beat the crap out of Santos Jimenez (Tony Amendola), the man who butchered his mother, rather than kill him might sound out of character on paper, but in execution is actually eye opening and expansive. Decisions like this define the plot, just as Dex's brief seperation from Rita proves highly effective when it could easily be misjudged, and the quality of the story hinges on risks.

Much of the seasons' most memorable moments come from the Doakes-Dexter dynamic, especially after the former is captured and locked in a cage at Jimenez's cabin in the woods. Here we see parts of Doakes' character that has never been shown before, a empathetic understanding and utter committment to justice proving a dichtonomy that goes beyond his wish to escape captivity. When Dexter realises that Harry's death was in fact suicide, and that it was caused by his horror at actually seeing his son in the act of killing, it is Doakes who proves most consoling. Erik King, already impressive, proves wonderfuly subtle here. The inevitable endgame between the two, where we know one of them faces death or incarceration, is unbearable to watch unfold as we find ourselves rooting for both but knowing no compromise can be reached. Somebody has to lose.

Doakes and Dexter develop an unlikely bond during the former's inprisonment.

Elsewhere, the FBI led manhunt for the Bay Harbour Butcher is a plotline that is rife with thrills and tense entertainment as it slowly narrows down the search and puts Dexter in the headlights. The subplots, which include a comic series inspired by the killer and a wannabe vigilante figure taking up the reigns, are brief but well judged, adding detail and layers to the overall arc. Playing the nemesis figure, Keith Carradine gives an excellent, nuanced performance as Lundy, who is both entirely convincing as a veteran manhunter and also highly amiable, particularly through his relationship with Debra, whose growth and development in the season is something to behold.

And, posing the unseen threat, Lila is a memorable character who has a huge impact. Many will and do hate her and the acidic influence she has over the protagonist, but her make up is complex and layered, interesting and compelling, and she is well played by Jaime Murray. She is certainly not Dex's soulmate, but she leaves an unshakeable impression on him for sure.

Continuing its tightly written tradition, the season comes toe to toe with that which preceded it with strongly tied plotlines and excellently balanced character driven storytelling, giving itself room to breathe and treat every figure to extended development and exploration. In effect, nothing is left out of Season 2, and there isn't a single second of time wasting filler. The balancing act conducted is supreme, giving us a thrillingly paced and awesomely assembled saga. While the manner in which Doakes exits may anger some, it proves absolutely neccessary for all of the arcs present and running. It's a case of the ends justifying the means, and it is one hell of an end.

Season Three - Best Buddies & New Families

Miguel (Jimmy Smits) proved that friendship and killing don't mix.

His near escape at the end of the previous season has given Dexter a new lease of life, and things are better than ever. His killing touch is back, supplemented by his new dumping ground, and his relationship with Rita is at it's most blissful. However, his latest kill goes wrong when he stumbles on a confrontation and has to kill a stranger to survive. The ramifications are huge, as the man was the brother of hotshot DDA Miguel Prado (Jimmy Smits). Dexter finishes what he started, only for him to run into Miguel, who had also tracked down the vic and fully intended to kill him. Through this, the pair unexpectantly become friends. Meanwhile, Rita falls pregnant with Dexter's child, and Dexter proposes to her. The motive behind a series of killings investigated by Deb and new Detective Joseph Quinn (Desmond Harrington) becomes quickly clear when witnesses Deb has interviewed over Oscar Prado's murder start dying by this method.

The relationship between Dexter and Miguel is transformed though when Miguel stumbles upon Dexter's true nature and his killing ways, but much to Dex's surprise he accepts them and then begins helping him as they become partners. Then the big step, as Miguel himself plunges knife into heart. But any illusions Dexter has that he has found someone to share his need with is subsequently shattered when Miguel promptly murders a rival lawyer. Tension mounts between Dexter and Miguel as their conflicting views become an active issue, ruining their friendship and pitting the two against each other. In a deadly gambit, Miguel sets The Skinner (Jesse Borrego) on Dex. Dealing with such a high profile figure, Dexter has a hard time working out how to take out his old buddy, and the clock is ticking as LaGuerta's suspicions over the murder Miguel conducted mean she is now in the attorney's sights. All this with a wedding fast approaching...

Debra and Quinn (Desmond Harrington) work to apprehend The Skinner

After the full throttle pace of Season Two, Three proves to be a more transitional and thoughtful spell for Dexter, with its early stages in particular having a more laid back beat. It's also the first time the cast dynamic of the show has been altered, with Desmond Harrington's Joey Quinn drafted in to fill the significant void left behind by Doakes, while the flashback format with Harry is scrapped in favour of a physical manifestation of Dex's father appearing, ostensibily acting as a mouthpiece for the code. This proves an excellent move, and never comes across as 'my ghost friend' as one might expect. In fact, since most of the flashbacks used a different actor to portray younger Dexter, this is the first time that Remar and Hall have shared the screen for extended periods of time, and the chemistry between the two makes the exchanges work.

Three proves to be the first occasion that a fairly well known actor has been brought in for the entirety of the season. Playing a complex and dynamic character, Jimmy Smits is excellent value for money as Miguel, an unpredictable force who's flamboyant rants, though animated, are not hammy, and are in fact perfectly in keeping with the character, as Dexter proves an excellent outlet for his rage. The direction the story takes, with Miguel eventually becoming an accomplice and co-killer, doesn't seem like the natural path, however, and one wonders how the arc would have panned out had Miguel played more of a master role, keeping Dex's trail clean while assigning him victims and opening up avenues for him to exploit.

A more permanent addition to the cast is Desmond Harrington as Quinn, and he brings alot to the table as Quinn, a bold as brass detective low on ego but high on testosterone. Though his backstory peters out and ultimately doesn't have as much significance as one might imagine, he does seem like a solid player and has a lot of potential for the future. There is excellent chemistry between he and Deb, always flirting around the edges of sexual tension, and his dynamic is suitably different from the other characters to ensure he doesn't step on any toes.

Previously only seen in flashback, Harry (James Remar) becomes a manifestation of the code.

 From the established cast, Angel's string of horrific luck (failed marriage, rape charges) finally turns as he meets and romances a fellow cop, though this is the extent of his plot involvement. There is one excellent scene, however, where he finds the man responsible for attacking his girlfriend, and then briefly leaves the fate of the perp in the dark, an interesting moment where we reflect on his nature and character. A nice character twist with Masuka, where his feelings are hurt and he subsequently becomes more sensible, much to the bemusement of his colleagues, is an amusing concept but is handled somewhat heavy handedly.

While the plotting and dishing out of material to the cast is just as balanced and tightly organised as always, a drop in pace means that Season Three doesn't quite run as smoothly as its predecesors, and may not stick in the memory despite being well structured. Miguel Prado is a highly memorable character who visibily has a long lasting effect on Dexter, and the legacy left behind cannot be soon ignored. After all, for a brief time, Dexter had an accomplice, and was then betrayed by him. Such events breed much development leading into the future.

Season Four - Nemesis & Mutually Assured Destruction

"Hello...Dexter Morgan" - The Trinity Killer

Married life with a newborn son (named Harrison) is hardly ideal for anyone, so imagine how poor Dexter is feeling. Tonight's the night...to finally sleep. Shorn of much needed rest, Dexter continues his efforts to keep his family, job and dark passenger in order, but is visibily strained. A trip to court to provide evidence turns into a disaster when he mixes up case notes, putting a killer out on the street and earning him the wrath of a furious Quinn. Having decided to make the lucky criminal his next subject, Dexter works a crime scene that there is more to than meets the eye, something confirmed by the sudden re-appearance of Frank Lundy, who's interest in the murder is ominous. It later transpires that an identical murder took place in the same house twenty years earlier, and Lundy's motives are revealed: now retired, he is looking for the serial killer who got away, the nameless Trinity Killer (John Lithgow). After inital awkwardness due to their prolonged seperation and her having a boyfriend, Deb begins to reforge her working relationship with Lundy to investigate Trinity, with Dexter's help, who is overburdened with multiple responsibilites and minds himself prone to aggressive outbursts.

The tension between Deb and Lundy finally breaks as they sleep together, with her now seeing her future with the former FBI man. Any hope this will pan out, however, is shockingly cut short as she and Lundy are gunned down outside his hotel, and she is forced to watch him die while she survives. It initially seems obvious to Dex that Trinity is the man responsible, since Lundy had supposedly seen him earlier that same day. Taking up the reins and picking up Lundy's old case files, Dexter is able to identify him as Arthur Mitchell, and is shocked to discover that the brutal murderer returns to a loving family and good home. He decides to postpone killing him in favour of learning from him, an attempt to console how he can balance being a serial killer and a good father and husband.

Dexter's punishing schedule of balancing family, work and killing proves fatal

Becoming something of a friend to Trinity, and a familiar face to his family, Dexter even goes on a road trip with him to Tampa for a charity building job, during which he learns of Arthur's dark past and then stops him from committing suicide. Through observation, Dexter learns that the home life Arthur has is in fact a dark lie, and after an explosive altercation on Thanksgiving, in which Dexter attacks Trinity to protect the man's son, Jonah (Brando Eaton), his cover is blown and he is forced to retreat. A now recovered Deb begins to follow the same trail as her brother and turns the attention of the department to Trinity. Dexter is now stuck in a destructive game of cat and mouse with Trinity, and is driven to desperation trying to hold everything together as he goes in for the kill while also keeping his department at bay.

But when Trinity finds out who Dexter really is, it ultimately becomes a tragic effort...

By dint of its horrible, traumatic and devastating ending, Season Four is destined to be the most memorable and probably most defining season of the show as a whole, but it would churlish to claim that it only deserves any accolades because of its final scene. In fact, the finale is simply the fitting end to a stressful, overwhelming run that packs thrilling plot developments, fascinating character studies and complex story strands to wonderful effect. After the previous season had hinted at a slight decline in form, four simply hits the accelerator and is quite possibly the show's best year.

Born in blood, like father like son

A cornerstone of Dexter up to this point, there again isn't a line of dialogue or choice shot that is put to waste, with everything geared up and intertwining together to create a magnificent whole, a grand and almost epic story of serial killer vs serial killer, with plenty at stake and much to sacrifice. The ultimate focus, the testing of Dexter's abilities to hold all the facets of his life together without breaking, means he is pushed harder than he ever has been before, and the human error in his ways is quite notable. He isn't a criminal genius or superhero, and he does begin to make mistakes, whether it's falling asleep at the wheel while housing a corpse in his trunk or getting into a needless feud with Quinn, he is coming apart at the seems, proving to be his undoing. The sheer blunt horror of the punishment, the thing that had to give, is both fitting and bitterly hard to take.

Then there's John Lithgow as Arthur Mitchell, the Trinity Killer. While Christian Camargo, Jaime Murray and Jimmy Smits put on excellent displays and created great antagonists for Dexter to deal with in the past, none of them come close to Lithgow's sensational, Emmy winning performance. A horribly conflicted role, Trinity is a man who almost seems to kill involuntarily, and is constantly horrified by his own actions. He doesn't have the psychopathic emotional displacement that Dexter does, he feels every kill, and is traumatised over and over again as he recreates his dark past. It's impossible to feel sympathy for such a monster, but yet we cannot dismiss him as such so easily. In the folds of an intimidating, powerful killer, there is a young boy mourning his sister. Such nuance is brought to the screen by Lithgow, both scary and pitiful, terrifying and meek.

John Lithgow's wonderful performance elevated the story to near perfection

Hall has him covered, of course, while Jennifer Carpenter is especially impressive, particularly during a scene in which the full impact of Lundy's death hits her like a train. It's painful viewing, totally without vanity of self consciousness, and the words trigger the tear jerk by the simplistic understanding there is for her helpless, bereaved state. The manner in which Lundy is brought back, giving us Trinity in the process, is a superb plot development and helps the continuity of the series. A much likeable character played with relish by Keith Carradine, his return is welcome, neccessary and inspired. It's traits like this, of which there are many in Season Four's scripting, that makes it work so brilliantly. Subplots come and go. Quinn's relationship with reporter Christine Hill (Courtney Ford) initally seems frivolous, but eventually turns out to be crucial to the A-Plot in a manner which escapes conveniant writing. A Batista-LaGuerta relationship, though interesting, lacks the punch of the other stories, however, and marks the third season running that has seen Angel have nothing to do other than chase a girl. We do learn alot about the characters, however, and LaGuerta has never been as sympathetic as she is here. The bitchy snark who tortmented Deb seems a millions years ago.
 
Ultimately four sets a benchmark for the remainder of the show, and pushes the question: has it peaked?

Season Five - Grieving & Healing Through Blood

Mourning doesn't come naturally to Dexter, but he can make an exception...

Shellshocked doesn't come close to describing the state Dexter is in as the new chapter begins. Disjointed and unable to process what he has seen and lost, the police and FBI arrive in force at his house as they begin the process of investigating Rita's murder. Anchored to his surrounds by son Harrison, Dexter contemplates leaving, truly believing that his loved ones are better off without him. Ready to sail away, forsaking the funeral and an interview with the Bureau, he has a confrontation with an unruly redneck, and kills him, then finally, pushed by Harry, lets out his pain and hurt before going back to deliver his eulogy for the woman he loved. While cleaning up Dexter's house, Debra and Quinn have a sexual encounter, one that she isn't inclined to discuss afterwards. The department moves on to a new case while Quinn begins to suspect Dexter was involved in Rita's death but goes too far, and is suspended by an enraged LaGuerta.

Though aware he should be concentrating on his children, Dexter cannot help but follow his instincts when he believes a murder has taken place, finds his instinct is correct...only for his kill to be witnessed by a young woman, Lumen (Julia Stiles), being held prisoner. After a long deliberation, Dexter manages to earn Lumen's trust and in turn release her, and then helps her track down the other men responsible for her imprisonment and torture. By this point, Astor, angry at Dexter over her mother's death, decides she no longer wants to live with him, so she and Cody move to their grandparents' house. Quinn, still suspicious of Dexter, pays recently fired cop Stan Liddy (Peter Weller) to start snooping out his enemy. Debra's stint in records sees her find evidence which puts Homicide onto the same track that Dexter and Lumen are covering.

They eventually identify the responsible parties, led by superstar motivational speaker Jordan Chase (Johnny Lee Miller), in their quest for vengeance that becomes romantic by turn. In his efforts to gain justice for Lumen, Dexter attempts to somehow redeem himself for Rita's death, and in the process puts himself in mortal danger.

Given the shocking way that Season Four concluded, it's perfectly natural that the following installment was going to struggle under the weight of expectancy and be, in effect, a transitional period as we and Dex adapt to life without Rita. However, after making a strong start, Season Five starts to suffer problems that have not been seen throughout the show before, and the biggest flaws that it has to offer ultimately come down to the two areas it has always been strongest: acting and writing.

Lumen (Julia Stiles) and Dexter find themselves at the mercy of Jordan Chase (Johnny Lee Miller)

It's quite possible that it displays some of Michael C Hall's finest work, particularly in the first episode, 'My Bad', and the last, 'The Big One'. But this is somewhat dampened by the work of Julia Stiles who, for all she has ability, is distractingly miscast in the role of rape/torture victim Lumen, over-emoting at certain turns and being generally unconvincing at others. While she handles the traumatised introduction very well, scenes such as the aftermath of her first attempted kill and her recollections of the men responsible are painfully wooden, as opposed to painfully honest. It is a great shame, because with a better, and probably less famous actress, the role would have been far more compelling. The role her character plays also poses problems, as the show finds itself taking the same steps seen in Season Three with Miguel. Although this is acknowledged in one of the episodes, it's hard to really be wowed by Dexter allowing Lumen to execute one of her tormentors when we saw a near identical scene with a different character two years ago. That Dexter himself lets this happen with little fight suggests he hasn't learned from his mistakes.

But it's not just here that the writing suffers badly, as we are given a primary anatagonist who while interesting and convincingly played by Johnny Lee Miller, is ultimately neglected. Throughout the show, the bad guys have always been given a little leighway, so as to help us understand why they are monsters. By contrast, Jordan Chase used to be fat, and is good at manipulating people. Beyond this, we get absolutely no insight into why he does what he does, or how he is able to get such a good handle on Dexter. His death is lacking in closure for anyone other than Lumen. Elsewhere, we have Dexter find a nanny, Sonya (Maria Doyle Kennedy), who is given plenty of face time but no real purpose, other than being able to take up mothering duties for Harrison at the drop of a hat, meaning Dex's single parent status is almost irrelevant. This degree of convenient plot writing is exacerbated by the fact that when Astor and Cody leave to live with their grandparents (Paul's parents, I might add), this isn't being done to add further angst to Dexter's psyche, it is simply a move to put them on a bus and get rid of them. It's a slap in the face that  after four years of adapting to the circumstances within his life, Dexter now gets a free pass by dint of easy writing

Dexter defies the code by allowing Lumen into all aspects of his life

Season Five also contains the episode that, for me, is the worst one so far, and mindboggling in its stupidity. This would be 'Everything is Ilumenated", in which a scenario at a warehouse takes place which aims for comedic farce, and reaches it for all the wrong reasons, playing fast and loose with logic at the expense of credibility. It ultimately concludes with Dex, Deb and Masuka coming across two of the former's victims, one of them partially wrapped in plastic sheeting, the other shot dead. Masuka amusingly surmises that this was a sex game gone awry and, in a truly baffling development, nobody thinks to disagree or look for further evidence. Never have well developed television characters been so badly treated, and made to look so moronic, for the sake of making the protagonist's life easier. Another interesting plot arc, that played out by Peter Weller's dirty cop Liddy, is allowed to reach a deflated conclusion which again doesn't stand up to scrutiny. It seems to end with Quinn being fully aware that Dexter is a killer, but letting it slide because...well, he's hooked up with Deb, and also Dex lies about a blood test which clears him. So...there's that

Ultimately, the Season is saved by Hall's acting and a well written development arc for his character, ending with Harrison's first birthday party and him finally finding some sort of peace over Rita's death, as well as rebuilding bridges with Astor. It's a nice epilogue, and one that leaves the next season open.

Season Six - Apocalyse & Finding Faith

Travis Marshall (Colin Hanks) finds a way to both complete his tableaus and get revenge of Dexter

As Season Six starts, Dexter has finally entered a good streak in his life post-Rita. His son Harrison is about to start pre-school, he is back to killing in normal ritual manner and is at the peak of his game. With a new fully available nanny at his disposable, in the form of Angel's skimpily dressed young sister Jamie (Aimee Garcia), and with his apartment extended he has extra cover to indulge in his dual identity. Enter the Doomsday Killer, or killers, an old man/young apprentice team of religious fanatics (played by Edward James Olmos and Colin Hanks) who are re-enacting scenes from the book of revelations.

In a political move, Matthews surprises everyone by choosing Debra as the new boss after LaGuerta is promoted, and in the process Deb breaks up with Quinn after he had proposed to her. Dex begins truly examining religion for the first time, and through this meets Brother Sam (Mos Def), a reformed con who is preaching the good of God while running an auto garage staffed by other former prisoners. After a brief, meaningful friendship, Dex is pushed over the edge by Sam's murder at the hands of one of his flock.

After a brief stint letting the dark passenger out to play on a road trip, Dex returns and concentrates his attention on DDK, and finds that the sidekick/young man (actually named Travis Marshall) is something of a reluctant participant, and through him he goes after the heinous older man (Professor James Gellar). It transpires that Gellar was actually dead all along, that Travis is the sole killer, and that the 'apprentice' was in fact being guided by a quite unreal manifestation of him. The department reach the same conclusion soon after, pitting Dexter into a race with his own people to find and stop Travis before he completes his killings, made more difficult by Travis finding unlikely help in his efforts and by the fact that he knows Dex's face.

Deb proves to be a less than PR friendly spokesperson for Miami Metro Homicide

For all it's good ideas and nice twists, it is impossible to view Season Six without constantly being haunted by the memory of the near perfect levels of excellence the show once reached. The bumps in the road that began appearing in Season Five become potholes in Dexter's sixth year, and for every right turn it takes, it takes multiple dead ends and occasionally falls horribily into substandard quality which, though excusable by the measure of other television, is utterly unacceptable here. The inescapable theme of the season is faith, and this recurring point is as subtle as a sledgehammer blow to the chest. Having occasionally dabbled with religion and its imagery in the past, the story suddenly finds as many ways as it can to shove it down Dexter's throat.

Not only are the big bads religious fanatics, but recurring character Brother Sam is a Born Again Christian, and Dex's interview at a pre-school is marred by Christian subtext, leading to an insulting exchange in which the sister running the convent...sorry, school....is baffled by the idea that somebody could be an atheist in the modern era. That this isn't killed dead on the spot by someone as intelligent as the protagonist is strange to say the least, and given his wit and attitude towards the issue, his own crisis of faith is out of character and ultimately gimmicky.

The highlights of the season prove to be seperate from the main plot, which plods along and is heavy with needless scenes featuring Travis and Gellar, where their dialogue is intended to be ominous, but comes off as asinine and struggling to achieve filler status. Dexter's dealings with an old serial killer, The Tooth Fairy (played with distinction by Ronny Cox) are far more revealing and constructive in the main character's development than him exploring God's influence.

While it may be the show's most poorly rated episode, Nebraska proves to be a good change of direction and shows a rare sight: Dexter letting his dark passenger take the wheel. While Brian Moser may be underused in his return, it allows for some interesting situations, while the opportunity to revist the loose end that was the Mitchell family is well constructed and thought out, and has a decent, if retrospectively dark, conclusion. The episode suffers from poorly thought out writing, however, and could easily have been a virtuoso hour had it been better developed.

Dexter becomes the Devil in the mind of the Doomsday Killer

The season's big twist, Travis being the sole killer, is straight out of cinematic cliche and doesn't feel like a Dexter moment at all, as well as making our hero appear bizzarely stupid. This development was predicted by many before hand, due to Gellar's non-interaction with any character other than Travis, but the crawling pace of their exchanges means such subtle hint is lost in the mundanity. It also poses Hanks' Travis as the main mastermind, a role which he doesn't have the presence to pull of. While the notion that the big bad is in fact a meek young man is certainly original and fresh, moments where he pushes to be intimidating are horribly misjudged. Insult is added to injury with the needless suggestion that Travis' tragic back story was actually just proof that he was "a monster all along". After the dismissive manner in which Jordan Chase was handled in the previous Season, this is unforgiveable by Dexter standards. This is main character, a whirling maelstrom of darkness and exercised demons, basically saying that his target was born evil, a concept the show has been against since the beginning.

The decision to make Debra the Lieutenant of Homicide is a good one, but again comes off as clumsy seeing as how she jumps up two ranks by dint of her handling of an off-duty shooutout. Though her troubles adapting to the new responsibilites are interesting, and lead to a series of revealing interviews with a therapist, they also end with the truly astonishing (for the wrong reasons) suggestion that Deb is in fact in love with Dexter, and that is fine because they aren't blood related. While this 'twist' could at least be described as original, it also puts the dynamic between brother and sister on very thin ice.

Deb's elevation means that LaGuerta, now Captain, is pushed almost completely out of the picture, and she has less screen time than the show's other new, often pointless characters. The break up of Deb and Quinn sees the latter turn into a drunken wreck, a potentially useful character switch which opens some doors while at the same time shatters some of his previously established traits. Sadly, it means that Batista's main role, other than being somebody's brother, is that he's saddled with an unreliable partner and has to deal with it.

The numerous tableaus left by DDK were one of the Season's best features

And herein we get to two of the season's real problems. First, needless and out of character situations which feel totally alien to the show's dynamic, of which there are many; Dexter gets a blowjob at his school reunion in what feels like a deleted scene from Californication; Masuka is heartbroken by his romantic interest, a new forensics intern, trying to sell case evidence on EBay; Batista and Quinn smoking weed and getting high; Jamie (Batista's sister, Dex's babysitter) on a date with Louis (Masuka's replacement intern). In many ways, the last one is the worst, as it's a scene between two characters we don't know or care about that adds nothing to the story, and comes across as a heavy handed attempt to put interest into otherwise background plot dwellers. Admittedly, this leads to a curious development whereby Louis decorates the ICT's multi-coloured prosphetic hand, stolen from archives, and mails it to Dexter, suggesting he knows something he shouldn't. But beyond this, it doesn't feel in keeping with the show, and is insulting when considered that established regulars are being ignored in favour of...this.

Secondly, lazy writing. The worst example comes at one of Travis' crime scenes, where there is evidence that incriminates Dexter. Rather than face this reality head on, instead the script has the cops WAIT FOR DEXTER TO ARRIVE before entering, giving him the chance to wipe out his connection to events. This is mindbogglingly mishandled in its execution, and is so blatantly a backtracking effort to avoid our hero copping heat that its almost laughable. Such cheap ploys are depressingly regular here, and really break the illusion the show has created for us to live in. And, finally, we get to the final scene. The big, huge even, cliffhanger is more a case of "it's about time" than it is appropriate, and worse still has no real connection to the rest of the season, suggesting it was tacked on by the writers to ensure interest in the next season.

It may be essential, perversely, since many viewers found themselves questioning the show during its sixth year, and the phrase 'jumping the shark' has been used more than once. Whether six proves to be a spectacular dip in form, or rather just the show losing its way without hope of healing, fringes on how it evolves following the big twist.

Season Seven - A Preview

Seven depends heavily on how Deb reacts to the Dexter revelation

And so to the penultimate installment, the soon to come Season Seven. Considering the Deb catches Dexter in the act ending to Six, expect its opening to directly follow on from this continuity. Further reports suggest that there will at least some flashbacks in the opening episode, going back to Deb and Dex as kids, the first time such moments have been seen since Season Two. On top of having a massive cliffhanger to resolve, there is also the small matter of Louis the creepy intern and his unholy interest in Dex, as well as his apparent knowledge of the serial killer's involvement in the ITK case.

Press releases and on set reports confirm various details, from casting and characters to plot developments. Prime among them is the addition to the cast of Rome's Ray Stevenson as Isaac, the head of a Russian mob syndicate in Miami. There will also be appearances from Calista Flockhart and Jason Gedrick, while Billy Brown will return as Mike Anderson, suggesting that the character does have some purpose after all. At least one source has stated that the Bay Harbour Butcher case will come up again, with LaGuerta reigniting her fight to clear the name of one James Doakes. It's also to be understood that Seasons Seven and Eight will follow one extensive plot arc leading into the ultimate series finale, a unique move as far as the show is concerned, suggesting it will be a long goodbye.

Regardless of the story, how Season Seven and beyond that Eight progresses will be entirely reliant on the writing team on the series bucking up their ideas and delivering far more intricate and disciplined scripts. It's hard to believe that the conclusion to the saga could be botched, but the sharp decline in quality since the start of Season Five does not bode well for the future. There is a certain degree of faith required, however, blind though it may be, as well as the assumption that a decision on how to end the show was taken long ago. Without a long term plan, justice will likely not be done.

Were I to go into speculative mode, I'd have to borrow elements of a theory I read a few months ago. Following Deb discovering Dexter's dark hobby, she initially is horrified but gradually begins to see the value in his work, and well serve as his keeper, keeping him clean and safe from investigation and in return having her dearly beloved brother kill off criminals who slip through her net. This angle, which seemed likely in Season Four, is one that is definitely open for use and would kill multiple birds with one stone, as well as putting a nice spin on the Dexter-Deb relationship. A relationship, incidentally, which is at real risk of being sensationalised, something the program cannot afford.

However, were it not to improve significantly on the abberation of the Season past, there is a real risk that it will not last long enough to reach a natural conclusion, or that by the time it does nobody will be watching. They have to start getting it absolutely right, and have to start now.

Delicious Dexter - The Greatest Moments

Given the quality of the show, picking out single moments of excellence is pretty difficult, although some scenes and occurences are just so overpowering or incredible that they simply cannot be ignored, those slices of Dexter's life that have such an emotional punch that they leave an indelible mark on you. Others are more subtle, more underplayed, but have such a huge significance that they were utterly essential viewing. I've tried to narrow them down and find the definitive moments that makes (or made) Dexter the monster success that it is.

"Who the fuck are you?"

One of the most satisfying endings to an episode during the entire run comes in Circle of Friends from Season One. The episode sees the Ice Truck Killer seemingly apprehended, and he is a great disappointment to Dexter, a road kill taxidermist living in a trailer park who ticks all of the serial killer cliches. Desperate to know why he took such interest in him, Dexter visits the man, Neil Perry, in prison, and after a long, creepy shot of a scowling Perry taking his seat, finally offers a tentative "hey".

In response, a baffled Perry demands: "Who the fuck are you?". Cue an adorable smile from Dex, and an audience realising: "Shit, he's still out there"...

Born in Blood

Another classic Season One moment, and one of the most overwhelming of the entire series, forms the basis of the superlative episode Seeing Red, in which Dexter's traumatised reaction to a crime scene containing gallons of blood on floor and walls sends him down the rabbit hole, haunted by a recurring, repressed memory of a young boy crying in claret.

Having been suckerpunched by this, Dexter resolves issues around him before finally confronting the recollection, returning to the crime scene left for him by ITK in search of the truth. He, and we, could not have bargained for what it is.

Cue a memory of Dexter, as a three year old, witnessing the brutal murder of his mother by chainsaw in a cargo container, her final words telling him to close his eyes as she is hacked to pieces by ruthless drug cartel runners. The boy in blood, born in blood, was Dexter himself all along. An astonishing moment, it was the first time the show brought tears to my eyes...horrific, disturbing and utterly, utterly sad.      

Goodbye, Biney

The emotional rollercoaster that was Season One finally came to a halt in one final, tragic and dramatic farewell to a character never to be forgotten again.We'd only just come to terms with the revelation that Rudy Cooper, Deb's boyfriend and the real Ice Truck Killer, was in fact Brian Moser, Dexter's brother, when he gave Dex a simple choice; either kill Deb and be united with the one person who could love him for who he was, or instead kill Brian. After choosing his sister, Dex protected her and then snared his returning, venegeful bro in an ambush.

Cue Brian on Dexter's table, and the chance for one final exchange before the knife came down. There was no joy or ritual in this kill for Dex, no blood sample taken and no pictures to taunt the soon to die, this was what he described as "putting [Brian] down". Overwrought and emotional as we'd never seen him before, Dexter finally ended the nightmare, slitting Brian's throat midsentence. "I can't hear any more".

Elevating the table to drain his brother's blood, Dex sags in the corner desperately sobbing, reflecting at what he lost, or rather was forced to lose.

The Bay Harbor Butcher

Coming out of nowhere, a blindside punch catching crisis hit Dexter off guard, was the discovery of his deep sea graveyard in Season Two opener It's Alive!, with the bodies of his victims found by salvage divers in the bay harbour area of Miami's coast.

The camera pan back, revealing the lip of a crevice decorated by so, so many black plastic bags, each one containing the dismembered remains of each person to adorn Dex's table, gave us a horrifying sense of perspective on the sheer size of Dexter's lust for murder, and also the ultimate Oh Crap moment.

Open mouthed shock was the reaction they were no doubt gunning for, and they got it.

"Just stay away from me..."

Another villanious moment for Dexter in Season Two came in the episode There's Something About Harry, with the plucky killer working on his frame job of Doakes. Having gotten a lucky break, virtually presented a potential vic on a plate, he quickly rushed the man back to the cabin in the Everglades, gleefully slicing him up while the horrified Doakes, still in his cage, screamed at him to stop.

The aftermath of this, with a traumatised Doakes staring into space and weakly telling Dexter to stay away from him, nails home the fact that, for all he is the protagonist and our personal favourite, Dexter is still a monster, and is still the bad guy. That it sparks Dex's realisation that he himself caused Harry's suicide is just the icing on the cake in the most unflattering of character study moments.

Harry's Tears

An unexpected moment of personal understanding, emotional growth and ultimately the release of grief, Dex's visit to the table of The Skinner in Season Three finale Do You Take Dexter Morgan? proves to be one of the highlights of the year.

Facing near certain death of the hands of the psychotic loan shark and former interrogator George Washington King, Dexter, via Harry, discovers just how pained he is by the thought of not seeing his son growing up, and missing out on his life. As Harry sobs, Dexter comments that he's never seen him cry before.

"These aren't my tears, Dex" Harry replies "They're yours"

Understanding his father's pain at last, he forgives him, and a newfound love for his unborn son putting fire in his heart, Dexter turns the tables on King and makes a bloody, ruthless and utterly bad ass escape.

Hello, Dexter Morgan

With Dexter's cover as 'Kyle Butler' broken, he found himself playing a game of cat and mouse with new nemesis Trinity in the latter parts of Season Four, culiminating in the episode taking its name from the blood chilling final line.

After a botched attempt to find the elusive Trinity at an arcade, Dexter gives up his search and returns to the station at the behest of a troubled Deb. What he doesn't know, however, is that Trinity has seen him leave, and follows him all the way to the Homicide department, thanks to a stolen visitor's card, and simply walks in the door. Seeing him enter, Dexter breathes a quite 'no' before rushing out to confront the mass murderer.

Casually strolling up to him, Trinity reads the hero's ID and coldy utters the immortal "Hello...Dexter Morgan"

In the ultimate game changer, Trinity now knows exactly who Dexter is...

Dead in a Bathtub

...and this moment leads to the final, heartbreaking and shattering event which changes Dexter's life forever and proved to be one of the boldest, most shocking TV moments of all time.

By the end of Season Four's final episode, The Getaway, it seems as if Dexter has won the battle, and has indeed succeeded in balancing the books in his life. Fresh off of killing Trinity, Dex returns home with the understanding that Rita and son Harrison are in the Keys. Then he finds a voicemail telling him that she returned home having forgot something...then he calls her...and her phone is still at the house...then he hears a baby crying in the next room...

Rushing through to the bathroom, he discovers Harrison bawling and sitting in a puddle of blood...Rita's blood, for she is bled out in the bathtub, Trinity's final victim. Posthumously, the monster has gotten his revenge on Dexter, and it was his failing.

Born in blood, life father like son.

Showing How You Feel

Dexter is having a bad week. Distraught by Rita's death, by the anger directed at him by her children, he decides to leave in the belief they will be better off. He's hardly gotten started by the time he runs into an unruly redneck at a boathouse, and their altercation turns violent...when Dex beats him to death with a mini-anchor.

After a prolonged absence, Harry returns to support him, telling him it's alright to show how he's feeling. In an pique of animalistic rage and pain, Dexter does just this, screaming indignantly through the tears, and comes out the other side realising he has to go back and face the truth, that the woman he loved is gone.

Seeing Dexter emotional is rare. Seeing this, pure emotional outpouring, is both horrifying and moving.

Reflective Dex - Final Thoughts

For six full years now, Dexter has kept us in state of surrendered obediance, a devilishly manipulative show that pushes the boundaries of taste and moral sensibility and somehow manages to be more satisfying, enthralling and amazing than anything else on the airwaves. In short, is a series that has given us a twisted, psychotic serial killer who we can all love and support. That single sentence speaks volume on the quality of writing and acting that prevents such a set up from simply being an oxymoron.

After dozens of kills, seminal displays and breathtaking set pieces, the show has remained fresh and always found a heart upon which to pin its various displays of drama, action and humour, at the centre of which is one of the best designed and beautifully orchestrated character studies in the history of fiction, a protagonist so fleshed out and evolved that he has become a real person in our mind. That he kills people in his down time is little more than a fascinating sidenote.

Through his various adventures, struggles and travails, we have lived out some truly extraordinary experiences, a degree of empathy created that lets us see our own dark passenger, our own dangerous tendencies and question the ethics we once held dear. After all, imagine if a loved one was like Dexter? Could you bring yourself to put him down like he did his brother?

That such ideas can be raised speaks volumes, and shows that without doubt, Dexter is a series to be savoured, it's brilliance in the opening stages negating a recent decline in quality. Watching it back, it's clear it can get better, and that, hell, maybe Dexter Morgan himself can to. Here's hoping.

Until then, another two seasons beckon. The experience starts all over again, on 30 September.