garth-51262 Reviews

Surface (2022– )

Pretty good, but the direction is off

[3/10 · 23 March 2023]

This show has good bones. The script is coherent, the production is just fine, and the plot twists aren't telegraphed too heavily. However, I think lead character Sophie is either miscast or poorly directed.

Gugu Mbasa-Raw is new to me, but she's obviously versatile and talented (as is demonstrated in a variety of situations in this very series). Nevertheless, Sophie doesn't quite gel as a character that is specific, interesting, sympathetic, consistent, and believable.

This role requires viewers' perceptions to evolve throughout the series. But there's too much homogeneity here - the production is way too reliant on Mbasa-Raw doing "the Tucker Carlson."

Nothing Compares (2022)

Not very objective or analytically minded

[3/10 · 22 April 2022]

This film is an object lesson in the compromises inherent in authorized biopics.

It's Sinead O'Connor's story told exactly as SOC would have it told: a version in which SOC is a shining beacon of truth-telling who singlehandedly emptied the Magdalene Laundries, legalized gay marriage and abortion in Ireland, and paved the way for Lady Gaga.

In this version, SOC's story ends mere days after her SNL contretemps. She narrates many sections but never speaks on camera. Outside of historical footage, no one interviews her or asks her any difficult or uncomfortable questions.

None of this is inaccurate per se. It's just obvious that SOC is a complex, contradictory, and difficult person with a unique psychology and perspective. I'm sure her actual story is more interesting and informative than this desultory attempt at myth-making lets on.

If you lived through peak Sinead O'Connor the first time, you probably won't come away from this film with much additional information. Sinead-O'Connor-now seems to feel that 23-year-old Sinead O'Connor said pretty much anything worth saying back in the day. Nothing has changed and there's nothing more to add.

A Forbidden Orange (2021)

Extremely peculiar documentary

[3/10 · 31 December 2021]

This documentary is of note chiefly because it describes a situation in which very little of interest actually happened.

A film festival based in a Spanish university town wanted to screen A Clockwork Orange a few years after its release in the US. The film was generally banned from exhibition in Franco's Spain, but because of a push towards reducing censorship, the authorities allowed it. Festival-goers were very excited and stood in line to buy tickets for hours and hours. After seeing the movie, they reported that they liked it and were glad they'd had a chance to see it. That's it.

Surely a few people died in the rioting that followed the screening of such an incendiary film? Surely the Spanish government changed its mind and sent in tanks to prevent the exhibition? Surely the film festival's coordinators were jailed, their careers ruined, and their legs crippled by repeated beatings? No, no, and no.

A Clockwork Orange created a seismic cultural wave around the globe. There's a fascinating documentary to be made about its impact, but this damp and largely pointless tale isn't the one.