Reviews

A Botswana woman looses her father and inherits his fortune (180 cows, et al). In so doing she is able to start up a small local womens' detective agency - the first of it's kind in southern Africa. From a clientèle of zero she manages to build up a client base of interwoven cases.

This is the story of one woman's' dream becoming a reality. But it's much more than that. It's also about Africa and Africans, it's about change, it's about standing up to bad things, about knowing your neighbours and having a laugh along the way. Minghella has successfully created a TV film version of the much loved novel of the same name by Alexander McCall Smith. This couldn't have been an easy project so it's a delight that the film has both a polished look and a real feel for it's characters. Filmed entirely on location, the film manages to engage and entertain with a hefty dose of humour and intrigue.

Whilst a few street scenes may not exactly reflect the norm in Botswana (cream cakes that look as if they'd just fallen off the shelf at Harrods), the interwoven stories and acting, from a new African cast, more than make up for it. This sadly turned out to be Anthony Minghella's last project as director but it's clear that he passionately believed in it's material. It's rare indeed to see studios with big bucks backing a film with this kind of plot or synopsis, let alone for it to be made in Africa and with an unknown cast. The fact that it succeeds is due not only to the screenplay and success of the the novel but to the vision of maestro Minghella himself. Long may his memory prevail, and it looks like it might do with a series spin-off planned for next year.

I went to see this film not expecting too much and was therefore unmoved by the end credits. This is a film in the horror category that plays on atmosphere, camera style and storyline rather than sheer gore. To that end it's a decent enough effort. Yes it does deliver a hefty chunk of chilling atmosphere and the film is heavily influenced by such films as The Others, The Haunting and even The Grudge. The acting is fine too but I found many of the scenes overlong and predictable. Apart from two moments which will jolt you out of your seat, there is a distinct lack of scariness here simply because the key scenes are not convincing enough and there is a distinct lack of creepiness, director Bayona obviously preferring tension and pseudo-suspense - the latter of which is misplaced in a number of scenes. I can understand perfectly some people being drawn convincingly into the story by simple virtue of it's claustrophobic feel and the way it's all played out, but that is not enough to save it from being at times laborious. Instead of it being one of Spain's best it simply creates a level to which others might aspire to do better. A good effort but nonetheless disappointing.

I came to the screening of There Will Be Blood not knowing much about it except for Day-Lewis's reportedly searing performance. True, it's an epic both in scale and emotion. Wonderfully engaging from the start you know after a few minutes that you are in for something special. Day Lewis's performance is exhilarating as prospective oilman in turn-of-the-Century American west. I do think it's one of his finest performances (so far). The cinematography is at times breathtaking and gripping, as in the scenes of one of the oil mines going up in flames, which is brilliantly staged. The wonderfully intriguing score also serves to pull you in at just the right moments. Characterization is fine and performances by everyone concerned is not in any doubt. However what lets this film down ultimately is the screenplay. One cannot help thinking that the many themes of this film (greed, power, religion, loyalty, to name just four ), coupled with it's scope, eventually connive to render it short of a masterpiece. I left the cinema both emotionally drained but also angry that the final scenes had ultimately let it down. Until that point it was very close to being one of the finest American films I'd seen in a very long time. Day Lewis's performance is what one remembers most and it's a bittersweet experience. Instead of stepping back and allowing the scope and breath of what we had witnessed on film being given some space and general conclusion, we are instead smacked in the face by Lewis's character baring his soul by way of a frenzied and disparate attack on his adversary, both physically and verbally, in order to demonstrate his 'power' as some kind of 'king of the mountain'. Whatever ones views about this scene, and yes it does address important points, it nevertheless doesn't tidy up the story, and hence the film, sufficiently enough, and so instead of the three hour experience being a totally uplifting one, I for one left the cinema with a bitter taste in my mouth which took ages to shake off. If writer and director Paul Thomas Anderson intended as much, then he certainly succeeded.