This is a film that I went to see for two reasons: the depiction of nostalgia and the state of British cinema- I thought it depicted the former brilliantly but confirmed the problem with British films that afflict our times. 'Me Without You- like most British films ('A Room for Romeo Brass', 'Bend it Like Beckham') would be more suited to TV- a BBC or Channel 4 film in the mode of 'Play for Today'- one-offs that aren't soap operas. Though I do admire the scope this film aims for- which should have been on a scale of TV-show 'Our Friends in the North'- i.e. hours of TV.
The film has a pretty great soundtrack- Cabaret Voltaire, The Normal, Only Ones, Scritti Politti and good performances from Anna Friel and Kyle Maclachlan. The best thing here is the acting of Michelle Williams- as with Katie Holmes she doesn't seem to be bothered by on-screen nudity. This is a European approach typified by actresses like Monica Belluci, Emanuelle Beart and Romane Bohringer- it's the character who is naked. And, let's face it- when you're in bed with someone you usually are naked! The punk bit was OK- not far from the book 'The Rachel Papers'- the other side of life from suburbia; the Brighton Uni bit was even better (though I felt the unrequited/requited love throughout was a bit hokey!). There is a terrible postmodern line spoken by Williams character to Maclachlan's on Tarkovsky- in 1982 sher states "My favourite is 'Nostalgia' "- released in 1983: the postmodern loop of nostalgia...I do think this film says a lot about friendship and the passage of time- for that reason alone it will find a receptive audience in the future (I had some 'Speak,Memory' moments...)The end of the film is quite unsatisfactory- Friel's character being quite irritating and the will they/won't they? question answered in a rather boring manner. The final scene is rubbish- daughters who we have never seen before are meant to reference the circular nature of 'growing up' as typified by the opening scenes of Friel/Williams as young girls playing in the garden?
I think this film captures that English suburban thing well- more 'Lawn Dogs' or 'Secrets & Lies' than 'American Beauty'- and I don't think it is close to 'Mina Tannenbaum'. It's much better than the recent Elton John produced film with Helena Bonham Carter and Mel Smiths excerable offerring with Minnie Driver. This film will work on video much better- as it's closer to TV than the language of cinema. Still it is very touching, does offer allusions to Derrida,Dostoyevsky & 'The Sweetest Girl' and it does linger in the memory long after seeing it. Despite its flaws, it's much closer to where British film should be than dross like 'Snatch' and a nice feminine companion to '24 Hour Party People'. At the end of the day though, this theme has been done much better in films like 'Beautiful Girls',I Vitteloni', 'Jules et Jim'& 'Summer with Monika'- which if you like this, I urge you to see.
The film has a pretty great soundtrack- Cabaret Voltaire, The Normal, Only Ones, Scritti Politti and good performances from Anna Friel and Kyle Maclachlan. The best thing here is the acting of Michelle Williams- as with Katie Holmes she doesn't seem to be bothered by on-screen nudity. This is a European approach typified by actresses like Monica Belluci, Emanuelle Beart and Romane Bohringer- it's the character who is naked. And, let's face it- when you're in bed with someone you usually are naked! The punk bit was OK- not far from the book 'The Rachel Papers'- the other side of life from suburbia; the Brighton Uni bit was even better (though I felt the unrequited/requited love throughout was a bit hokey!). There is a terrible postmodern line spoken by Williams character to Maclachlan's on Tarkovsky- in 1982 sher states "My favourite is 'Nostalgia' "- released in 1983: the postmodern loop of nostalgia...I do think this film says a lot about friendship and the passage of time- for that reason alone it will find a receptive audience in the future (I had some 'Speak,Memory' moments...)The end of the film is quite unsatisfactory- Friel's character being quite irritating and the will they/won't they? question answered in a rather boring manner. The final scene is rubbish- daughters who we have never seen before are meant to reference the circular nature of 'growing up' as typified by the opening scenes of Friel/Williams as young girls playing in the garden?
I think this film captures that English suburban thing well- more 'Lawn Dogs' or 'Secrets & Lies' than 'American Beauty'- and I don't think it is close to 'Mina Tannenbaum'. It's much better than the recent Elton John produced film with Helena Bonham Carter and Mel Smiths excerable offerring with Minnie Driver. This film will work on video much better- as it's closer to TV than the language of cinema. Still it is very touching, does offer allusions to Derrida,Dostoyevsky & 'The Sweetest Girl' and it does linger in the memory long after seeing it. Despite its flaws, it's much closer to where British film should be than dross like 'Snatch' and a nice feminine companion to '24 Hour Party People'. At the end of the day though, this theme has been done much better in films like 'Beautiful Girls',I Vitteloni', 'Jules et Jim'& 'Summer with Monika'- which if you like this, I urge you to see.