Eye In The Sky

‘Eye in the Sky’ is a thorough examination of modern military warfare and the complex decision making that goes on behind the scenes. The title refers to the satellite and drone technology that enables everyone involved in these types of operations to see the mission unfold in glorious detail.

The film deals us a complex scenario which sees UK based Colonel Katherine Powell (Helen Mirren) in charge of an operation to capture terrorists in Kenya. The operation is almost entirely conducted via remote surveillance but for some local intelligence provided by Jama Farah (Barkhad Abdi) who is on the ground and even he has his own highly impressive mini-drone which he skilfully pilots.

The objective of the mission soon changes when things don't go as planned and the terrorists end up in a house in a highly defended suburb of Nairobi, where they appear to be planning a suicide bombing. The mission is now eliminating everyone involved with a Hellfire missile with the added political ramifications from the fact that two of the terrorists are British and one is American.

Throughout Powell in touch with her Lieutenant General Frank Benson (Alan Rickman) who is handling the politics of the operation in Whitehall. Lawyers stand by on all sides. Meanwhile in the US drone pilots Steve Watts (Aaron Paul) and Carrie Gershon (Phoebe Fox) are preparing to launch the missile from the relative comfort of their military base. 

That is until they spot a young girl (Aisha Takow) selling bread in the vicinity who will be killed if they go ahead. This reignites communications between the various parties as the consequences are once more kicked about and sent higher up for decisions to be made and/or avoided. Never has the sale of bread been so riveting.

Who knows if this is exactly how everything really works or not, and I wouldn’t really expect them to give us the full story in any case but it’s an impressive bit of film making and a superbly engaging film.

It is also a film which will be remembered as the last one to feature the great Alan Rickman who died in January.

Trumbo

Dalton Trumbo (Bryan Cranston) was the highest paid writer in Hollywood in the 1940s and arguably the best. He was also a member of the Communist Party which, while this wasn’t illegal, it wasn’t popular with the paranoid government of the day.

Trumbo, along with many others, was hauled before the delightfully named ‘House Un-American Activities Committee’ to explain themselves and to implicate others. The notorious Hollywood Ten, which included Trumbo, refused to cooperate and stood up against what they saw as unfair treatment of their beliefs. There was never any evidence that any of them were spying for Russia. As a result though, many of them including Trumbo were sent to prison for contempt.

The committee wasn’t satisfied with simply jailing people and they also blacklisted them so that they couldn’t work in the film industry. The committee had significant backing from the likes of John Wayne (David James Elliott) who was president of the equally delightfully named ‘Motion Picture Alliance for the Preservation of American Ideals’ and odious gossip columnist Hedda Hopper (Helen Mirren).

In order to survive some, many such as Trumbo, took their work underground and began writing or directing under false names. It was harder for actors to work anonymously and others, such as Edward G. Robinson (Michael Stuhlbarg), gave in and cooperated with committee.

Trumbo ends up working for Frank King (John Goodman) whose studio produced cheap trashy B movies which involved Trumbo working on the cheap and effectively working around the clock fuelled by alcohol and Benzedrine. This made him very unpopular at home with his wife (Diane Lane) and daughter (Elle Fanning) but who to their credit back him in his fight against the system. His daughter evolves into a younger version of his own stubborn self.

Trumbo also managed to work secretly on several bigger projects causing Ian McLellan Hunter (Alan Tudyk) to pick up the Academy Award for writing ‘Roman Holiday’ when actually it was Trumbo who wrote it. Trumbo goes onto win other awards under various pseudonyms for which he didn’t receive any credit at the time.

It is an absorbing story and a good history lesson which also includes some real archive footage. Trumbo won several Oscars for his work and it would be quite fitting if this film won something too but I don’t think that is the way the wind is blowing.

Brighton Rock

I hate remakes of anything and a remake of a film that is highly regarded as a classic of its time, such as ‘Brighton Rock’, should really be avoided at all costs. I haven’t, shamefully, read Graham Greene's book, nor had I, until last week, seen the original 1947 film and perhaps that is why I rather liked this remake.

The book and the film were set in the 1930’s but this remake by Rowan Joffe has shifted the action to 1964 and makes a few slight plot changes. This was bound to upset the purists, just like modernized versions of Shakespeare do but I kind of like those too. Personally I think if you're going to do a remake, at least do something a bit different with it. Straight copies are pointless.

So out goes the mob era and in comes a backdrop out of Quadrophenia. e.g. mods on mopeds on Brighton promenade, only it’s not. We had to go see this film because 1960’s Brighton has been recreated in Eastbourne and we were there when they filmed it. The dogs, well one particular dog, barked all the way through the filming, so there we sit in the cinema straining our ears trying to see if they’ve edited him out or not.



In this version, we get more of an intro and a bit more background to the characters. Not that this makes any different to the likeability of teenage sociopath and wannabe gangster, Pinkie Brown. Richard Attenborough was brilliantly sinister as Pinkie in the original, here Sam Riley (you know Ian Curtis) takes on the scowl but somehow he doesn’t seem as menacing as Attenborough. He's more moody teenager with an attitude problem than a gangster. The effect is much the same though. We feel zero sympathy for his character. Not that we feel any either for Rose (Andrea Riseborough), the nice Catholic waitress who falls for this moody Catholic thug.

Pinkie has murdered ‘Fred’ Hale, a man from a rival gang, and is prepared to cover his tracks by any means necessary. Rose is a potential witness to his crime, so in a bid to shut her up he pushes her into a sham relationship with him. Romancing her is not hard, the poor deluded girl immediately falls for him, hook, line and sinker even though he ignores her most of the time. What does she see him? Though suppose that’s a question we often ask ourselves of people today.



An explanation of sorts is offered when they visit the tower block where Rose lives. A tower block that looks very rundown, particularly considering tower blocks were a bright new idea in the 60’s. Rose lives with her father, a man who is as controlling as Pinkie is. So at least she’ll feel at home with him. Pinkie barters with her father for her hand in marriage, which will prevent her being forced to testify against him until he can find the moment to dispense with her permanently. In the end her father effectively sells her for £150.



Amidst all these crazy Catholics comes the level headed Ida Arnold (Helen Mirren) who is determined to unearth the truth and rescue Rose from the nutter she has betroved herself to.



It was a difficult film to remake but having bothered, I think they made a pretty good fist of it. Very enjoyable. Riley is good enough as Pinkie, as is Riseborough as Rose, well pathetic enough at least. It all ends in tragedy of course and I do love an unhappy ending. The classic scene remains, as in the original, when Rose cajoles him into making a record of his voice in a recording booth on the pier. On record he makes it pitifully clear that he despises her and her failure to ever find out what he said on that record makes a touching finale...