Review Category: Movie

After a mysterious cosmic event, a number of teenagers awake with psychic powers like telepathy, psychokinesis, precognition and mind control. Limited in number (only virgins who were masturbating when hit by the cosmic rays were granted abilities), they are soon recruited by an organisation who monitors such activity to prepare them for a battle to come, a battle which seems to largely involve dozens and dozens of sexy women.

It wouldn’t truly be the Edinburgh International Film Festival without at least one batshit crazy movie from Japan. The Virgin Psychics starts well, revelling in its histrionics to shameless extent, such as an early scene featuring nominal hero Yoshirō treating an act of self abuse as an epic undertaking as his mind swiftly cycles through the bevy of beautiful girls and women who have caught his eye.

True to its manga origins, the film feels very much like a live-action anime, revelling in the sheer unapologetic ridiculousness of its porny setup. Additionally, each character seems capable of talking only in dramatic pronouncements delivered with far more weight and gravity than the world would themselves suggest.

After receiving his powers Yoshirō does his best to act like what he believes a hero should be, despite the fact there is not much occurring that requires him to be a hero. Aside from the nebulously defined inevitable emergence of evil psychics and a perverted girl creating a private army of fembots, there is very little in the way of true antagonism to drive the story, and so it descends into various set-pieces of scantily clad girls acting out the fantasies of teenage boys, any semblance of plot becoming overshadowed by the film’s joyful perversion and lost in a directionless cycle of endless smut. Believe it or not, there actually comes a point where watching beautiful, shapely and relentlessly horny young women dressed in various kinds of fetish gear and displaying eye-popping cleavage actually gets a little tedious. Things become further complicated at the halfway point with the appearance of several new busty babes who integrate themselves into the story with very little indication of how we’re supposed to react to them.

Everything eventually culminates in a muddled finale that fails to make clear what the genuine revelations are supposed to be, or offer any sense of true conclusion to the story, making you wonder what the point of it all was. A strong setup let down by vague and inconsistent plotting, The Virgin Suicides would likely have been a lot more fun if, ironically, it took itself a little more seriously. In short: more story; less boobs.

THE VIRGIN PSYCHICS / CERT: TBC / DIRECTOR & SCREENPLAY: SION SONO / STARRING: SHOTA SOMETANI, ELAIZA IKEDA, ERINA MANO, MAKITA SPORTS, MOTOKI FUKAMI, KEN YASUDA, MEGUMI KAGURAZAKA, ROSA SAHEL / RELEASE DATE: TBC

Expected Rating: 7 out of 10

Actual Rating:
 

After a bad breakup, lovelorn witch Elaine makes a new start in a new city, and soon goes on the hunt for a new man. Using her powers to ensnare men who catch her eye, her magic becomes a little too effective and the intensity of the men’s emotions becomes too much for them, their obsession with her soon having tragic consequences.

The first thing you notice about The Love Witch, aside from how breathtakingly gorgeous its protagonist is, is how breathtakingly gorgeous the film itself is. The lurid colour scheme evokes the look of the sex-laden exploitation movies of the ‘60s and ‘70s, matched perfectly by the garish set design. Numerous filmmaking and photography techniques aid in crafting the illusion, so much so that were you not aware the film is a recent creation, the chromatic saturation may fool you into believing it’s a restoration of a film decades old.

Appropriately for a film crammed with vivid sexytimes, Samantha Robinson as Elaine is truly stunning. She exudes the sensual glamour of the likes of Caroline Munro or Ingrid Pitt, her flawless beauty hypnotically beguiling and almost intimidating in its unassuming vibrancy. Despite her regular nakedness, her naughty bits are usually covered by the cascading hair of a Lady Godiva wig, meaning that even when nude she is still teasingly covered up.

Aside from its magnificent recreation of period genre movies, the film also strives to offer a more overtly feminist take on the era’s attitude towards women. Elaine spends her time searching for the right man to be with not because she feels that’s what’s expected of her, but simply because she wants to. The film repeats some laughably dated expressions of gender roles, but the very fact that they need to be stated in the first place is precisely the problem, and by extension highlights how much of that inequality still exists, as much as some of us like to delude one another that it doesn’t. Elaine uses men for her romantic and sexual desires in the same way that they would use women, except without the social requirement for them to feel ashamed of themselves afterwards. In her quest to equalise the emotional disregard she finds so abhorrent in men she pushes herself ever closer to becoming little better than the thoughtless men she so despises.

The portrayal of the magic in the film is less abstract than its representation in those that inspired it, and actually appears to come from a place of research. The other witches she encounters offer explanations of the Wiccan principals of white magic, while her statement of magic being an extension of will is right out of Aleister Crowley’s principals of Thelema, specifically “Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law,” that a person’s actions should exist in harmony with their sense of purpose.

Much more than just a meticulously constructed throwback, The Love Witch is gorgeous, sexy and mesmerising in every way, and shows that just because a film takes shameless trash as its inspiration, it doesn’t mean that the end result needs to be the same.

THE LOVE WITCH / CERT: TBC / DIRECTOR & SCREENPLAY: ANNA BILLER / STARRING: SAMANTHA ROBINSON, GIAN KEYS, LAURA WADDELL, JEFFREY VINCENT PARISE / RELEASE DATE: TBC

Expecting Rating: 8 out of 10

Actual Rating:
 

After a celebrated author seemingly commits suicide, her twin daughters Ana and Nan plot the revenge killing of the man she used her dying breath to identify as her killer. They plot to stage the nocturnal murder at the National Library of Wales where they work, a gargantuan structure with plenty of private reading rooms where dark deeds can be carried out unseen. Their plot is a simple one with little that could conceivably go wrong, but in keeping with Robert Burns’ famous maxim on the unreliability of forward planning, before long the girls are forced to frantically improvise if they want to see their vengeance through to its conclusion.

Identical twin characters can sometimes be an iffy character choice, as their characterisation often perpetuates the erroneous and unreasonable belief that they are merely a duplicate of the same person. While Ana and Nan start out as almost entirely indistinguishable – matching hairstyles, dressing the same and their movements eerily synchronised in a seamless and oddly hypnotic flow – as the film progresses they soon become distinct individuals rather than a sororal dyad.

Ana is revealed as the more sympathetic of the pair, in touch with her emotions to a far greater extent and begins to question the morality of what they’ve decided must be done. Nan, meanwhile, grows far more ruthless in seeing their task through to its bitter end, hunting her quarry through the library’s labyrinthine corridors, the click of her heels echoing ever closer with the heralding inexorability of the Terminator’s scraping limp. It’s a testament to the subtlety of Catrin Stewart’s dual performance that she can tease out distinctive personalities without requiring any overt character traits to differentiate the sisters.

As the truth behind events is gradually revealed, the film begins to feel like something akin to a modern day gothic tragedy, the vast deserted expanse of the library with its dark shadows and endless looping passageways substituting beautifully for an isolated mansion or mysterious castle. The building’s countless shelves and stacks, containing centuries-old manuscripts and rare texts from the world over, practically radiate the history contained within their pages, invoking the best of the subgenre by juxtaposing the traditional and the modern. The female protagonists are a neat variation on the classical brooding hero, and the plot revolving around the bonds of family and the justifiability of vengeance have roots in the best of gothic tradition.

The Library Suicides offers a bleak look at the human condition, but still shines with a glimpse of light offering a way out. The story doesn’t judge the sisters for their actions, and asks whether or not we would be capable of doing the same when placed in the same position, and also to decide for ourselves which choice is a good or bad thing.

THE LIBRARY SUICIDES / CERT: 15 / DIRECTOR: EUROS LYN / SCREENPLAY: FFLUR DAFYDD / STARRING: CATRIN STEWART, DYFAN DWYFOR, RYLAND TEIFI, SHARON MORGAN / RELEASE DATE: AUGUST 5TH

Expected Rating: 7 out of 10

Actual Rating:
 

Francis is a good-natured assassin who meets and instantly falls for dinosaur-fixated eccentric Martha. Not long after, Francis is targeted by his former partner and becomes embroiled in the machinations of an ambitious gangster, which really gets in the way of trying to spend time with an awesome girl.

After the underseen and underrated American Ultra (which this movie may take place in the same universe of), Max Landis has scripted another quirky hitman story, although Mr Right has a lot more laughs and a lot more heart than the stoner bloodbath. That’s not to say it doesn’t have its fair share of violence; on the contrary, shootouts, stabbings and fistfights occur fairly frequently throughout, but they don’t dominate the plot to the extent that the romantic aspect gets lost in the mix. It’s highly reminiscent of Grosse Point Blank, not only from being a romcom featuring a hitman, but also the tone perfectly balancing the mix of easy-going relationship advancement interspersed with blackly comic action.

Sam Rockwell exudes an easygoing charm as Francis (except when anyone actually calls him by his hated name), his engaging presence reminding you how good he can be as a leading man. With an actor less charismatic, Francis’ dancing fighting style could have come off as a little pretentious, but Rockwell makes it fit perfectly with the character, the elaborate footwork performed as an extension of the poise and agility that required for any competent skill in martial arts. Francis also possesses reflexes bordering on superhuman, visualised neatly by his reacting at a regular rate to actions seen in slow motion.

Anna Kendrick continues to be eminently watchable in absolutely anything and everything, and Martha’s instinctive assertion is a fantastic change from the annoying dithering of many romantic heroines. Her brazen confidence means she is rarely fazed for long regardless of how extreme the situation, but never reaches the extent that she becomes too unrealistic to relate to. It’s through how she reacts to her growing realisation of Francis’ true nature that you can properly appreciate that the two of them are meant to be together, while along the way it gradually becomes clear that she’s at least partially insane herself. But, y’know, in a totally endearing way. Besides, the film also observes that everyone is screwed up in their own way, and the challenge is finding someone who is just the right amount of the right kind of screwed up for you.

To sum up Mr Right, it would be simplest to observe that this is a story featuring a meet-cute taking place through a cascade of tumbling condom packets, a date interrupted by an assassination attempt, and a romantic scene where a fledgling couple fling knives back and forth at each other. Charming, funny and thrilling, it’s about as near to a perfect date movie as you can get, and if Landis fancies penning the closing chapter of a pseudo-trilogy it would certainly be most welcome.

MR RIGHT / CERT: TBC / DIRECTOR: PACO CABEZAS / SCREENPLAY: MAX LANDIS / STARRING: SAM ROCKWELL, ANNA KENDRICK, TIM ROTH, JAMES RANSONE, ANSON MOUNT, MICHAEL EKLUND, KATIE NEHRA, RZA / RELEASE DATE: TBC

Expecting Rating: 8 out of 10

Actual Rating:

 

News reports have gleefully spewed the fact that Nicholas Winding Refn’s latest film The Neon Demon was booed at screenings during this year’s Cannes film festival. The Cannes audience will boo anything except free drinks, so these reports are to be taken with a hefty dose of salt. Refn has turned his unique eye on to the fashion industry with a frustrating but interesting and unique film.

Jesse (Elle Fanning), a young aspiring model, moves to the big city to find her fame and fortune. There she meets people who are beguiled by her beauty and also those who are jealous.

Elle Fanning, all big doe eyes and alabaster skin, is a perfect fit as the young and innocent model, Jesse. Dressed in light and pastel coloured floaty dresses she stands out against the darkly coloured costumes of those around her. All the sets make it feel like she is trapped and alone and the recurring use of mirrors make her always feel watched. Jesse herself says that she used to imagine the moon was a big eye looking down on her. The Neon Demon explores the notion of being watched and judged, as all the models are scrutinised by each other, with sideways sneering looks, as well as by potential clients. Success and failure both come quickly with a terse word, withered look, or pointed finger. Jesse is a natural, untainted beauty and this opens her up to vicious, jealous attacks as well as admiration and adoration.

The Neon Demon is supposed to be Nicholas Winding Refn’s horror movie. Indeed, he himself says that it is a horror movie for sixteen-year-old girls. Certainly, there are horror elements to it but we don’t think it can ever rightly be called a horror film. It is surprisingly funny throughout, look out for Alessandro Nivola as the arrogant fashion designer who’s enchanted by Jesse and who is hilarious in all of his screen time. The film even takes a turn to B-movie territory towards the end that invites you to laugh at its over the top nature.

Amongst the glorious visuals and wonderful synth soundtrack from frequent collaborator Cliff Martinez, are Refn’s penchant for shock whether it be through violence and sexuality, in this case including a scene of necrophilia. Refn is a director who controls carefully and doesn’t compromise his vision. His characters often take long unnatural pauses between lines, even pausing within them. Refn doesn’t hurry himself, instead letting the camera hold for longer than you would expect. This creates quite a languid pace and over the course of two hours, makes the film feel bloated and dragging, not helped by the fact that it struggles to feel like it’s going anywhere or leading up to anything. You’ll feel like you’ll spend a lot of time just looking at Elle Fanning’s unmoving face.

Refn’s films are always going to be divisive and The Neon Demon isn’t any different. He doesn’t compromise and doesn’t attempt to appeal to the masses, and really, why should he? He is an auteur making what he wants. You may be entranced and pulled in to his stylised worlds or bored and pushed away but at least he will give you something to talk about.

The Neon Demon is wonderful looking, has a great soundtrack and has some interesting ideas floating around but it tries your patience with its sluggish pace and lack of drive.

THE NEON DEMON / CERT: 18 / DIRECTOR: NICOLAS WINDING REFN / SCREENPLAY: NICOLAS WINDING REFN, MARY LAWS, POLLY STENHAM / STARRING: BELLA HEATHCOTE, ELLE FANNING, KEANU REEVES, CHRISTINA HENDRICKS / RELEASE DATE: JULY 8TH

Expected Rating: 8 out of 10

Actual Rating: 
 

When celebrated author Sandy is caught shoplifting, instead of turning him over to the police the security guard Robert instead decides to make a friend of him, blackmailing him with exposure for his agreement to regular meetups. As Robert intrudes ever further into his life, Sandy grasps for a way to free himself from his devoted stalker. 

The psychological thriller dynamic of a famous celebrity menaced by an obsessive fan is nothing new, but what makes A Patch of Fog stand out is its study of the dynamic between its two leads. The story constantly blurs the lines between the relative moralities of the two men, so much so that your sympathies regularly shift between them.

Being the one who is encroached upon, Sandy begins as the most sympathetic of the pair. His life is straightforward from having published one bestseller twenty years previously and coasting off its success ever since its popularity landing him a job lecturing in creative writing and as co-host of a review TV show. So devoid of strife is his existence that the thrill of the possibility of being caught while shoplifting is the only thing that gives him any excitement. However, his dismissive arrogance keeps you from fully sympathising with his plight, and he has a disregard for the thoughts and feelings of others as though their presence is an inconvenience he can’t be bothered with.

Meanwhile, for all his threats and blackmailing, Robert’s actions are the result of him being desperately lonely; his inability to make friends isolating him from everyone around him. All he wants is companionship from someone who’ll acknowledge his existence, even if they have to be coerced into spending time with him. Even though he becomes increasingly obsessive and his manipulations continue to escalate, his twisted perceptions make him genuinely believe he isn’t doing anything wrong, and can’t understand why Sandy remains so hostile to his attempts to befriend him. It becomes apparent that in his own way Sandy is just as alone as Robert is. Despite being rich, successful and having a glamorous girlfriend he’s almost getting serious with, he feels his life is one of hollow emptiness and is too self-absorbed to appreciate his good fortune. However, as much as he might resent his success, neither is he especially keen to give up its trappings.

As a battle of wills between the two men escalates, so does the maintained air of menace as threats both tacit and spoken are made on either side, all the while the danger of events turning tragic continues to loom. The Belfast setting of the film is a city portrayed almost as sinister as the story set against it, with shadows cast heavy by the burning amber of streetlights, while ominous shrouds of mist envelop the cobbled streets at suitably dramatic intervals, almost as though summoned from Sandy’s titular novel.

An almost cartoonish moment at the climax threatens to undo the film’s meticulous structure, but when placed against the subdued intensity of the rest of the film it’s a minor gripe. Overall, A Patch of Fog is a compelling tale of constant unease and escalating tension that keeps you gripped throughout.

A PATCH OF FOG / CERT: 15 / DIRECTOR: MICHAEL LENNOX / SCREENPLAY: JOHN CAIRNS, MICHAEL MCCARTNEY / STARRING: CONLETH HILL, STEPHEN GRAHAM, LARA PULVER, ARSHER ALI, IAN MCELHINNEY / RELEASE DATE: JULY 8TH (CINEMA), JULY 11TH (VOD)

Expected Rating: 7 out of 10
Actual Rating:
 

It’s been a few years since Peter Jackson took us on a fantastical journey with his adaptation of The Lord of the Rings, and the less successful but still visually spectacular Hobbit movies. However, there is, indeed, still a lot of interest in this style of fantasy, as fledgling filmmaker Adam Starks proves with his ambitious first feature.

Peter (Starks) and Jack (Copeland) are both preparing for their exams – the latter less so than the former, so Peter offers to help Jack study in the woods during an unusually balmy December day. While settling down and waiting for his friend, a bolt lights up the tree Peter is resting against and he awakes startled to find himself – and Jack – in a parallel world. A land where creatures roam and sword and sorcery are the norm.

In order to get home, the pair must travel through the dangerous forests and past treacherous ruined castles and encounter – and fight – a host of hostile armies who want the pair dead.

Starks’ film is incredibly brave – it’s clearly a labour of love, with the director also producing, writing and playing (along with Copeland) all the parts. It’s also very long – at over three hours, it rivals Jackson’s films for endurance. As such, the film has an episodic feel at times, but there’s always some action on the way before too long. With just the two actors, one would expect things to be rather lame, but thanks to some well thought-out and cleverly done editing, it looks like there are plenty more people involved.

The story itself is an interesting one, raising moral questions above the usual quest or destiny formulas; it does get very wordy, though, with whole sequences narrated in voice over and lots of dense mythology to absorb.

If there are flaws to pick up on, they are budgetary ones. The prosthetics for the creatures are little more than masks, lacking movement and fairly unrealistic, but they serve their purpose. The overuse of After Effects distracts at times, but once again this is forgivable for the budget and the fact it’s practically a one-man show. A few day-for-night filter effects fall short, but generally, the post-production is actually of a high standard. There’s nothing too distracting, however, and it certainly doesn’t take anything away from the enjoyment of the film.

For such a young filmmaker, Starks has excelled with his début. It may not be the most lavish-looking or commercially appealing movie, but he certainly has the talent and skills to go places. And with a knowing editor, The Journey to Aresmore could be tidied up to a more agreeable and viewer-friendly length. As it stands, it’s great fun for those with a flavour for fare such as Hawk the Slayer or Willow.

THE JOURNEY TO ARESMORE / CERT: TBC / DIRECTOR & SCREENPLAY: ADAM STARKS / STARRING: JOSHUA COPELAND, ADAM STARKS / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

Inspired by a real-life tragedy which occurred in 1801 at the Smalls Island lighthouse miles off the coast of West Wales, The Lighthouse is the latest feature from director Chris Crow who impressed with sturdy calling card movies Panic Button (edgy social media thriller) and Devil’s Bridge (brutal survivalist horror). The Lighthouse, however, whilst it shares the potentially claustrophobic predominantly single setting format of Panic Button, is an entirely different proposition to any of Crow’s other movies. This is a much more intimate, stifling and uncomfortable experience, a true psychological horror story made all the more chilling and effective because of its roots in a half-forgotten folk tale (albeit one which resulted in fundamental changes to the way lighthouses operated thereafter – until full automation in 1980 lighthouses were always manned by three keepers).

It’s the beginning of the 19th century and life doesn’t look too rosy for Thomas Howell (Jibson) and Thomas Griffiths (Jones) when they are posted to ‘keep the light’ at a wooden-framed lighthouse on a tiny island off the Welsh coast. On arrival they’re told “she don’t want us here…and neither do these bastard rocks.” The pair, both grizzled and battered by time and, as we discover, personal tragedy, settle into their mundane existence at the lighthouse but their fortunes take a turn for the worse when a ferocious – supernatural? – storm whips up, throwing the cold and wild waters of the Irish Sea at the beleaguered lighthouse. The storm goes on and on but their rations are running low and there’s no hope of rescue as the storm rages furiously.

What follows is a dark and disquieting journey into the heart of madness and despair as the pair’s circumstances become even bleaker and terrible. Both men bear the scars of lives touched by death and perhaps they’ve come to the island as a penance and as a way to escape the crushing unending darkness of their lives. Crow’s movie is an exploration of what drives a man to the edge – and beyond – and as events unfold we’re plunged into a nightmare world where reality and unreality are never far apart and where, sometimes, the horrifying is much more terrifying than the horrific.

The Lighthouse is a bold, demanding film and by its very nature, it’s not likely to find favour with everyone. It’s mercilessly grim, its lead characters are taciturn and troubled and there’s no light and shade here in a story which appears to offer little more than two stern men glaring and shouting angrily at each other across a very small room. Beautifully played by the always-reliable Mark Lewis Jones and Crow regular Jibson (who also had a hand in the script), The Lighthouse is never less than a tense, immersive experience, deftly and cleanly realised by Crow, with effects so subtle they barely register as effects at all. In an entirely different league to so much of today’s cheap, derivative horror fodder (and there’s a case to be made that it isn’t really a horror film at all), The Lighthouse is a welcome beacon of quality in a genre often happy to rely on cheap tricks and easy scares and offers so much more, amply rewarding those who are willing to embrace its blunt and brittle world.

THE LIGHTHOUSE / CERT: TBC / DIRECTOR: CHRIS CROW/ SCREENPLAY: CHRIS CROW, PAUL BRYANT, MICHAEL JIBSON / STARRING: MARK LEWIS JONES, MICHAEL JIBSON / RELEASE DATE: JULY 8TH

 

Slash fiction, for all you people out there less depraved than us reprobates here at Moonbase Alpha, is fan fiction focused on sexual attraction, usually non-canonical combinations and often same-sex pairings of heterosexual characters (e.g. Kirk/Spock). Neil is a teenage writer of such works who ends up humiliated after his writing is discovered and shared around his classmates. Finding solace in fellow erotic adventure author Julia, she encourages him to upload his work to a website where people share similar creations, and the shared passion of their craft draws them together as they each fill a hole in the other’s life.

At the beginning of the film you assume that Neil is gay, but it later becomes clear that he isn’t quite sure what he is and uses his writing as a way of exploring his confused sexuality. This way the presumed platonic nature of his and Julia’s relationship can conceivably grow more intimate, from he being a change to the distant older guys she is tired of and her straight-talking assertion being everything he wishes he could be. Despite the confident air Julia projects, she is gradually revealed to be just as emotionally messed up as Neil is, albeit far better at hiding her insecurity under a veneer of aloof nonchalance, and it’s through figuring out what they want together that the two of them grow closer.

The story is punctuated by several sci-fi interludes dramatising Neil’s literary creations, which are invariably amusing for their sheer ridiculousness, the porny dialogue and narration and improbable scenarios highlighting what ridiculous fun these stories can be. Additionally, a hilariously awkward family meal (“Can we please stop saying ‘erotica’ at the dinner table?”) is a particular highlight scene.

Despite being a niche interest seen as ripe for ridicule, the film treats slash fiction as a subject to be taken seriously, as the people who write this kind of material do so out of a deep emotional investment in the characters they reinterpret. While even they might not deny that they’re a bunch of freaks and perverts, this shouldn’t be seen as a bad thing, and besides, they’re all freaks and perverts together. The story touches upon the fundamental irony that a large chuck of slashfic writers are sexually inexperienced teenagers and thus aware of only the basic mechanics of what they write about, but in keeping with the inclusive portrayal of the world of literary sexiness it isn’t dwelled upon.

When it comes down to it, Slash is a basic teen movie with very familiar character arcs and story beats – albeit presented through unusual subject matter – but its nuanced portrayal of its realistic characters make it worth checking out.

SLASH / CERT: TBC / DIRECTOR & SCREENPLAY: CLAY LIFORD / STARRING: MICHAEL JOHNSTON, HANNAH MARKS, MICHAEL IAN BLACK, MISSI PYLE, JESSIE ENNIS, PETER VACK / RELEASE DATE: TBC

Expected Rating: 7 out of 10

Actual Rating:
 

Reinterpretations of Shakespeare plays have been a staple of cinema for decades, taking in everything from power struggles in feudal Japan to modern day high school comedies to far flung sci-fi. Often the most intriguing are ones that update the setting but keep the original dialogue, seen most successfully with Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo + Juliet. Macbeth has been previously done this way in a 2006 Australian effort that transposed the action to the Sydney gangland underworld and starred Sam Worthington in the eponymous role, but even though that was a muddled failure it was still a far greater piece of work than this chaotic mess.

Much of Macbeth Unhinged takes place in the claustrophobic confines of a limousine, and doing so isolates itself from any coherence. You can speak the lines of the play with all the confidence and comprehension you like, but without the context of the associated physical performance or proper setting, the words are rendered all but meaningless. There is such a disconnect between the dialogue and the action that it’s only if you’re familiar with the source material that you’ll have the slightest idea of what’s going on. Granted, Macbeth is one of the best known of Shakespeare’s plays, in regards to both its plot and timeless themes, but it’s not the responsibility of the audience to make sense of a film with their own prior knowledge.

Angus Macfadyen lives up to the film’s title in a raving performance of seething dementia that strains credulity that someone so evidently disturbed could have ever attained a position of power, all the while tonally dissonant comical music accompanies his dark plotting and backstabbing betrayal. The standout performance comes from Taylor Roberts as Lady Macbeth, who appears to be the only one taking it seriously and portrays the infamous spouse as a seductive manipulator, her husky voice hypnotic and commanding. The trio of witches only have any significance in their initial scene delivering the prophetic pronouncements that set the plot in motion (chanted with the rhythm of a skipping rhyme), but despite this they remain around for most of the film, hanging at Macbeth’s shoulder in tight dresses like horny muses of violence.

The movie has the feel of a student filmmaker’s graduate piece rather than a truly professional production, an overtly experimental reinterpretation created for visual style rather than narrative coherence, and thus more like a showpiece instead of something intended for commercial release. A few neat touches stand out amidst the jumbled story, such as part of the witches’ prophecy coming as a disembodied voice speaking backwards or the occasional splash of colour flaring out of the stark monochrome, but they are mere moments within an otherwise forgettable presentation.

An experimental piece that really doesn’t work, Macbeth Unhinged is intriguing in regards to being a distinctive addition to the multitudinous ways in which Shakespeare continues to be adapted, but as a cinematic experience is incoherent and unsatisfying.

MACBETH UNHINGED / CERT: TBC / DIRECTOR & SCREENPLAY: ANGUS MACFADYEN / STARRING: ANGUS MACFADYEN, TAYLOR ROBERTS, KEVIN MCNALLY, HARRY LENNIX SMITH, SETH NUMRICH / RELEASE DATE: TBC

Expected Rating: 7 out of 10

Actual Rating: