Government cuts Founders' Building upkeep fund - The Founder

The Founder | Wednesday 25 November 2009
E X T R A
13
Film
Glorious 39
Daniel Collard
Film Editor
When a young man in modern-day
London goes to visit two old relatives
to find out about his family’s
past, a story of conspiracy, lies and
betrayal unfolds as Britain begins to
feel the tremors of the approaching
Second World War, in the glorious
summer of 1939. “It’s not always a
good place to go, the past.”
This is writer/director Stephen
Poliakoff ’s first foray into cinema in
over a decade, having spent his time
since then crafting award-winning
TV dramas such as The Lost Prince
and Gideon’s Daughter. With Glorious
39, however, he has something
far too powerful to keep from the
big screen. Romola Garai (Atonement)
stars as Anne, the adopted
eldest daughter of the Keyes family,
rich and powerful British aristocrats
overseen by the charismatic
patriarch and high-ranking MP,
Sir Alexander (Bill Nighy, Notes on
a Scandal). As Britain celebrates
the apparent safety from war with
Germany granted by the Munich
Treaty, trouble is brewing under
the surface of the Keyes’ idyllic
existence. When Anne stumbles
across clandestine vinyl recordings
stored at her family’s Norfolk home
by sinister government official Mr.
Balcombe (Jeremy Northam, Gosford
Park), her perfect life begins to
unravel around her as she begins
to uncover a conspiracy to appease
Hitler and keep Britain out of the
coming war – at any cost.
As the film develops from period
drama to intense political thriller,
Poliakoff displays a mastery over
escalating tension easily comparable
to that of Hitchcock. Anne’s terrifying
journey is a brilliantly conceived
combination of naturalism
and the surreal, as the intimidation,
betrayals and shocking violence
she encounters on her quest for the
truth take their toll on the young
woman’s sanity. Like the ‘Master of
Suspense’ himself, Poliakoff inlays
his film with a sense of gathering
dread, throwing the audience offbalance
with a series of twists and
shocks that never feel gimmicky or
derail the story [although I did at
one point fall off my chair. Ed].
Having amassed a cast of some of
the most talented actors Britain has
to offer, Glorious 39 delivers some
truly brilliant performances. Garai
really is incredible as the heroine,
Anne: she portrays a beautiful
innocence that feels all the more
tragic when it is corrupted and torn
away by the events around her. But
there is also an innate strength in
her performance that makes you
realise why Anne has no choice but
to try and fight the evil she encounters,
regardless of what form this
evil may take. Nighy is superbly
subtle as the benevolent Sir Alexander,
utterly convincing as a man
who really does have both his country
and his family’s best interests
at heart. The staggeringly talented
“
”and
Having amassed a
cast of some of the
most talented actors
Britain has, Glorious
39 delivers brilliant
performances
cast, including Oscar-winner Julie
Christie (Finding Neverland), Eddie
Redmayne (The Other Boleyn
Girl) and Charlie Cox (Stardust)
to name but a few, provide hugely
memorable individual turns as well
as ensemble support, while there
are powerful cameos from David
Tennant and Christopher Lee as the
to be enjoyed.
Awe-inspiring directing and performances
aside, what makes this
film really interesting is its exploration
of a relatively unknown part
of modern British history. Poliakoff
said that he “wanted to create a suspenseful
story that would resonate
with a modern audience, but which
was firmly based on historical
fact. So many elements of Glorious
39 are true, the spying, the secret
service being used by the government
to quell all opposition to its
policy of appeasement and how
passionate feelings were unleashed
even amongst the least politically
minded about whether to face up
to Hitler.”
By grounding these intriguing
historical events in a family drama,
Poliakoff is able to turn a potential
history lecture into a dramatic
exploration of how it truly affected
the people involved. Anne’s world
is thrown into chaos when she is
forced to decide between her duty
to her family and her duty to herself
and what she believes in. It is this
personal conflict, not the global one
that is to come, that is at the heart
of this film, and what makes it such
a fascinating experience.
Glorious 39 is out in cinemas
from November 20th (London)
November 27th (nationwide)
The
Invention
of
Lying
Jonathan Woodhouse
Whether you like him or not, Ricky
Gervais has pushed the boundaries
of comedy ever since mockumentary-style
sitcom The Office hit our
screens eight years ago. Shortly
following this up with hit series
Extras, Gervais has quickly become
the master of social satire, exposing
the world for its triviality and
desperation whilst still managing to
make us laugh at the same time.
In his latest effort The Invention
of Lying, Gervais brings us to a
society where no-one in mankind’s
entire history has ever told a lie. In
this world everyone tells the truth,
no matter how blunt or uncomfortable
it may be, with the first
half hour of the film firing rapid,
unexpected dialogue from all directions
to hilarious effect. Gervais, as
well as co-writing and co-directing
with newcomer Matthew Robinson,
stars as Mark Bellison, a loser in a
non-descript town somewhere in
21st Century America. In this alternative
reality there is no fiction,
no religion and adverts are brutally
honest – “Pepsi: for when they don’t
have Coke”.
An unsuccessful screenwriter
(films here are basically filmed
historical lectures), Bellison is even
more out of luck when love interest
Anna (Jennifer Garner) dismisses
any idea of a relationship due to his
appearance and his lack of financial
security. Seemingly down and out,
Mark goes to a bank to withdraw
the remnants of his earnings and in
his desperation utters the unfathomable:
the world’s first lie. What
follows is a expertly crafted comedy
where anything is possible.
Much like his personas in The
Office and Extras, Mark Bellison is
played comfortably by Gervais and
his style of comedy translates well
to the screen. Bellison is perhaps
a much more likable character
compared to his previous roles and
as such is played far more honestly,
with Gervais proving he is worth
his salt as an actor as well as a comedian.
It would seem that Gervais
is at an experimental stage with
his own streams of consciousness,
making Mark Bellison a character
that is very much grounded in reality
despite the cinematic world that
surrounds him.
The seemingly simple concept of
one man being able to tell “something
that wasn’t” means that some
of the laughs are obvious, yet The
Invention of Lying manages to
subvert ideas of the human condition
and asks some of the deepest
philosophical questions recently
put to film. However this is something
that moviegoers may struggle
with: Gervais doesn’t have a whole
TV series to play with here and
thus some layers of this 99 minute
film may be lost to a mainstream
audience. Perhaps that is the point;
Mark Bellison’s swift fall from grace
as a result of his actions allows Gervais
to explore the moral ambiguity
of lying without being conclusive.
Much like his TV efforts, Gervais
disguises his film as a fairly harmless
comedy (with the inevitable
romantic subplot) but delves into
something radical and unexpected.
A great supporting cast (including
cameo appearances from Edward
Norton and Phillip Seymour Hoffman),
a well conceived story with
many laugh-out-loud moments,
Ricky Gervais’ first proper foray
into cinema (let’s forget Ghost
Town) is brave and ultimately successful.
Whilst being by no means
perfect, The Invention of Lying
should stay with you long after
leaving the cinema – and you may
even discover your own personal
truths in it, somewhere.