Friday, October 04, 2013

A Field in England in 250 Words or Less

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It's amazing what a single expression can do. I was finding A Field in England, Ben Wheatley's latest film - he previously made Kill List (review here) and Sightseers (review here) - a little on the tedious side for the first hour or so. There is a lot of walking around a field in England, you guys. A lot. Still its striking visual palette of silver gray on black coasts you along for good portions, and the oddness of just what it is you've found yourself watching - think Ken Russell directing Monty Python's Waiting For Godot - keeps you hanging in there even when you're not sure you should keep bothering. And then wham, much like that last act turn in Kill List, Wheatley flips a switch and you're glad you did keep bothering - here that switch is a character walking out of a tent in slow-motion, and it's somehow one of the scariest things I've ever seen. Major props to the actor Reece Shearsmith for getting it there - most of it hangs on his face, and it is madness. In its wake the film tips over into some true trippy balls-out whackadoo - there's a sequence or two of psychedelic speed cutting that's astonishingly well formed, and a real something and a half to behold. So have patience. You'll see things here you might never un-see.
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5 comments:

Roark said...

Where did you see this??

Anonymous said...

I saw this a few months past and have still not been able to shake it. reminded me of THE BABY OF MACON

Jason Adams said...

Roark - it's made its way online, it has

Anon - is Macon good? I've never seen it. I really have to see more Greenaway

Anonymous said...

BABY OF MACON is very disturbing - there is a rape sequence that you only hear that is ghastly. The film is hard to find maybe due to the full frontal nudity of Ralph Fines and Juliette Binoche.

Anonymous said...

Macon is terrific. It's so beautiful and over the top, like a mix between "The Cook, The Thief..." and "Dogville" and with a little of "The Devils" in it. It's not only gorgeous, it's also clever and entertaining. Ralph Fiennes is so handsome in it, and Julia Ormond's (not Juliette Binoche's) tits are bigger than you'd expect. You should track it down Jason, I think you'd really like it.