NEXUS ISSUE 22 2014

nexus magazine
Magic In The
Moonlight
The Maze Runner
FILM REVIEW BY DARCIE
FILM REVIEW BY DR RICHARD SWAINSON
Blue Jasmine, Woody Allen's 2013 hit, took its lead from Tennessee
Williams' A Streetcar Named Desire. Magic in the Moonlight, this
year's effort from Allen, would seem to be equally inspired by George
Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion and/or its musical adaptation, My Fair
Lady. Set in Germany and in the south of France during the summer
of 1928, Moonlight is a romantic comedy, the tale of a relationship
between Stanley, a middle-aged illusionist and Sophie, a 20 something
spiritual medium whose psychic powers he sets out to debunk.
Both characters are well cast. Colin Firth is particularly impressive as
the curmudgeonly rationalist, imbuing Stanley with the ranting anger
of a John Cleese character and the insufferable arrogance and condescension
of Rex Harrison's Henry Higgins. The continental backdrops
are both beautiful and atmospheric, Allen's recreation of the sound
and aesthetics of the Jazz Age reflecting his usual craft and attention
to detail and personal enthusiasm for the music of the era.
For all the surface charms though, this is mid-range Allen. His
dialogue often sounds forced, if not mannered and the thematic oppositions
rapidly become one note. A science versus spirituality debate
is laboured at the expense of developing an emotionally credible
connection between Stanley and Sophie and his unrelenting smugness
challenges audience sympathy. The last scene - clearly lifted
from My Fair Lady - has its own satisfaction but mostly the magic is
missing. Also, for those who care about such things, the plot twist
is rather predictable.
The maze runner is another attempt to bring a YA book series to the
big screen. These often turn out average at best, but on a rare occasion
morph into something big, like Harry Potter and The Hunger
Games. Whether or not the latter is the case with The Maze Runner
is undecided at this stage – but probably not.
Thomas (Dylan O’Brien) finds himself ascended into a strange
closed field, surrounded by about a dozen other boys, and the field
itself is surrounded by The Maze. Like the others, Thomas’ memory is
kind of kaput, save for his name. He learns what little is known about
their situation – they are surrounded by a maze, they don’t know
why, don’t know who put them there and don’t know how to get
out. Being the curious one, Thomas wants to know more, and tries
to insert himself into the role of ‘runners’ who are those who explore
the maze to find a way out.
This movie actually wasn’t too bad, it didn’t linger unnecessarily,
it had its moments of suspense, and the actors were well picked.
Although the actual characters mainly seemed so-so, Will Poulter,
Thomas Brodie-Sangster, and obviously Dylan O’Brien in lead were
good. Ki Hong Lee was one who I was impressed with acting and
character, as well as Aml Ameen. The diversity of the characters in
regards to ethnic backgrounds was awesome to see, but the main
thing was that I was constantly intrigued about the purpose of
the maze.
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