Vera Drake [2004]

Written and directed by Mike Leigh, Vera Drake is a 2004 British film which tells the story of an older woman who performs abortions in the 50s. It is quiet, subdued and heartbreaking at points, as she must ultimately face the consequences of her actions.

Vera Drake is portrayed as an incredibly positive, outgoing and slightly naive person, with a heart of gold, who is available and willing to help anyone who requires it. Married with two children, a son and a shy, introvert daughter, she goes on her day to day life, cleaning houses as a way to pay the bills. The harsh discrepancy comes when we find out Vera is also known, to many women, as the lady who performs abortions. She does it because she thinks she is helping girls out whenever they can't manage, and because she has been doing it for such a long time without any problems and without receiving any money for it, she is sincerely upset when one of her "patients" is admitted to the hospital in terrible conditions after it.

Misses Drake's world collapses when, in the day of her daughter's engagement, the police come knocking on her door, demanding information about her rituals, after the sick girl's mother tells the police Vera's name. That scene when the detectives come to confront the woman is probably one of the most moving, heartbreaking moments of the whole movie. We can easily see the change as she realises what she has done and what might await for her, we can feel her emotions, her terror, and her performance was quite extraordinary. I loved the fact that everything was quiet, there were no shouted accusations or cheeky attitude, there were only silent voices and normal conversation, as she admits to the detective and the police that she "help girls out, when they can't manage"; she answers the questions, but her mind always goes back to her family and her children in the other room.

Vera Drake is a bleak, rather slow movie- it seems like it's just waiting to burst, but there is no fire, not even at the end. The cinematography and the direction are wonderful and they perfectly use the 50s sets and costumes, which are all realistic, and I always smiled at the use of the very British language (Ta, crikey, be back in a jiffy). The supporting cast is very good, especially Richard Graham who plays her husband, the insanely talented Eddie Marsan as Reg, and I do have to mention the dorky Chris O'Dowd, as well, even though he had a very small part.

Imelda Staunton, portraying the main character, is, as expected, absolutely brilliant. She brings so much joy and kindness to her part at the beginning, but so much angst and fear after the reveal, and she does it with conviction, passion and immense talent. I was impressed by her performance, especially in scenes like the one where she had to take off the wedding ring.

Overall, Vera Drake is a very well made film, with a great lead performance and a sensible topic, but that might bore or unsatisfy some, just because of its slow, rather bleak rhythm. I liked it, but I wouldn't recommend whole hearted to everyone, it depends on what people usually like.

Tyrannosaur[2011] + Q&A w/ Director and Actress

A couple of days ago, I had the pleasure of seeing Tyrannosaur, the directorial debut of Paddy Considine, a talented British actor, known for his In America role. After the screening we were lucky enough to have Paddy and Olivia Colman, the lead actress, for a Q&A, but more about that later.

This film is considered to be one of, if not the best feature of British cinema in 2011. It tells the story of Joseph(Peter Mullan), a lonely and angry man who crosses paths with Hanna (Olivia Colman), a religious woman who suffers from domestic abuse (her husband, James, is played by Eddie Marsan).

We first see Joseph getting out of a bar/club, swearing and kicking evrything in his way, including his dog. He continues displaying his anger throughout the movie, going in and out of it, but we can always see a hint of regret, a flicker of humanity in him; he is a tormented man, who needs affection- he is constantly looking for a companion, even if it's his dying father, his much younger neighbour or the lady from the charity shop.

When Hanna comes into the his life, not judging or asking weird inappropriate questions, he feels relieved, but is also strangely attracted to the kindness of the woman. They both are, after all, messed up souls, looking for love, attention and safety. As expected, the two grow closer, but it isn't because of love- their connection is formed based on tragic events. I won't go into details, I 'll just say that, later on, the movie had one of the most dramatic and disturbing scenes I've seen lately, and it "hit" me, and probably others, as well, so hard, because of the sense of reality it displayed. It was sad, but you knew that it could happen to anyone, and it is, actually, happening right now to women all around the world.

Performance-wise, it is fantastic- Peter Mullan and Eddie Marsan are both forces of nature and deliver gut-wrenching performances (especially Eddie Marsan), but Olivia Colman is the one who shines. Her vulnerability, her desperation, everything about her portrayal of Hanna is spot on and very touching, giving a lasting impression on the audience.

Paddy Considine did a proper job with the directing and writing, especially the latter, as the movie script is one of its strong points. It had a very realistic feel to it and set a dark mood, starting with the lighting, sets and costumes, all the way through the dialogue and scenes. Special mention to the music and sound editing part, as it was remarcable and very good.

Tyrannosaur is a wonderful dramatic movie, that I highly recommend!

The Q&A after the screening started with roaring applause for the director, and especially for Olivia Colman, the lead actress. It was very informative and entertaining. Considine is a great guy, a straight-forward, no-bullshit kind of guy, who didn't have a problem saying "Fuck you Cameron" in response to a question regarding the prime minister's latest declarations. He talked about the idea for the script, his interaction with domestic abuse and how it all started, the fact that it was cronologically filmed in order to help the actors and so on. Olivia Colman is one of the sweetest, nicest women in the business and talked about the way she prepared for the role, how she got it, the time spent on set and gave us more details about the dramatic scene I was telling you about earlier. She even gracefully said a few words about her Bafta snub, although she didn't seem to upset about it at all.

Overall, it was a great experience- thank you Prince Charles Cinema! No publicity, I still had to pay for my ticket, but the cinema really is something else, I suggest you go there sometime!

p.s. The DVD/Blu-Ray is out today, go get it now!