The following is my submission for the Pitch the LAMB feature over at The Large Association of Movie Blogs site (aka. The LAMB). The genre for this month's Pitch the LAMB is Slasher Films. Bloggers are encouraged to come up with an idea for a movie in that genre style.
Crash Years
Despite massive layoffs over the last two years, Union Prima, the world’s leading insurance company, has achieved record profits during that span. Many have accused Union Prima of using the recession as a loophole to violate many of the corporate ethics laws; yet no one has been able to prove it...until now. Alec Sherbert, one of Union Prima’s underpaid mailroom clerks, has been secretly providing a spunky journalist, Shelia Bubletei , with classified documents for weeks. Now on the eve of Union Prima’s annual shareholder’s meeting, Alec is just a few documents away from helping blow the scandal wide open.
Unfortunately for Alec, a bigger story is emerging right before his eyes. On the day of the shareholder’s meeting Alec discovers the body of prominent shareholder in one of the mailroom bins. With the doors leading outside mysteriously locked, and unable to reach Shelia as the phone lines have been cut, Alec’s only hope is to find the last bit of information Sheila needs and find a way out of the building. As the bodies pile up in gruesome fashion, many killed with various office supplies, Alec races to evade the masked killer wielding a serrated letter opener.
After finding the last required file on Shelia’s list, Alec risks his life to save Union Prima CEO Jean Ason from the mysterious killer. Alec and the killer battle until the sound of police men coming up the building distracts them. By time the police reach the executive floor of Union Prima, Ason is crying over Alec’s dead body and the wounded killer is nowhere to be found. As the police remove Alec’s body, a file drops out of his jacket. The file is the work history of Hector Shont, an accountant who was part of the massive layoffs. Unable to pay his bills, Hector committed suicide. Hector’s was survived only by his daughter Sheila whose whereabouts were listed as unknown.
Cast
Alec Sherbert – Jay Baruchel
Shelia Bubletei – Rebecca Hall
Jean Ason – Emma Thompson
Showing posts with label Emma Thompson. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Emma Thompson. Show all posts
Monday, May 24, 2010
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
A Conventional Education Passable But Not Stellar
An Education
The Golden Globes were announced yesterday which means we now must endure weeks of the “who got snubbed” debates. Personally I do not really care for the Golden Globes. I find they often tend to nominate the films/television shows that will ensure the biggest celebrity turnout for their telecast. Still, I cannot bash the Golden Globes as there are times when they do get their nominations and winners right. One film in particular this year, An Education, has been appearing on many critics' “top ten" lists for Best Pictures of the Year. Surprisingly it did not make the cut for the Globes. The film only received one nomination, Best Actress, for Carey Mulligan’s phenomenal work in the film. Some may consider this a huge snub but I actually think they made the right choice.
Set in the early 1960's, sixteen year-old Jenny Mellor (Carey Mulligan)lives with her parents (Alfred Molina and Cara Seymour) in the London suburb of Twickenham. Her father, Jack (Molina), wants nothing more than to see his daughter attend Oxford. Though Jenny is a gifted student, her marks in Latin may hinder her chances of being accepted at the prestigious school. While heading home one day Jenny meets David (Peter Sarsgaard), a charming man more than twice her age. David exposes Jenny to an exciting world that she that she only dreamed about. As Jenny and David become closer, Jenny is forced to question what is the true value of an education?
As coming-of-age tales go, An Education is a rather enjoyable film but far from great. Sure it was nice to see a film like this from a young woman’s perspective that did not involve “magical fitting pants” or a big “prom” scene at the end. The reason this film works well at the level it does is partly because of the era it is set in. Since there were limited options for women at the time, it makes it a little easier to believe that Jenny’s parents would be charmed by this man who is more than twice her age. It also allows for many of the characters to observe what is happening without really speaking up against it.
While I did like the film it must be noted that An Education is rather light on substance. Which is rather odd, especially considering the subject matter that is in the film. The problem is An Education never bothers to give us any real insight into David at all. Sure we see how he gets his money, but you never really see what makes him truly tick. The final arc offers a little snippet but it only serves as a launch point for the all too sweet ending. As a result Sarsgaard is not given much to work with and provides the weakest performance in the whole picture. Peter Sarsgaard is a great actor who usually nails his roles. Yet he only seems to hit one-note, "creepy man-child", through this entire picture. After a while I found myself being more interested in the possible relationship between Jenny and David’s friend, Danny (Dominic Cooper). Come to think of it, I would have preferred if Sarsgaard and Cooper had actually switched roles. Cooper exuded far more charisma in his minor role than Sarsgaard did in the whole picture. Frankly the majority of the cast outshines Sarsgaard in the film.
Carey Mulligan and Alfred Molina are definitely the main reasons that the film kept me interested as long as it did. Mulligan carries the entire film on her back and is nearly flawless will doing so. She provides a refreshing and realistic portrayal of what it is like to be a teenage girl. Although the picture is set in the 1960’s she truly makes her character timeless. Molina is great as Jenny’s father as he hits all the right comedic and dramatic notes. The thing I like about Molina’s work here is that he truly understands his characters motives. Jack only wants the best for his daughter but his ambitions for her success blind him to the reality of the situation. Take away Mulligan and Molina and An Education is really much ado about nothing. While the film is not as deep as it appears to be, An Education is still worth seeing if nothing else for the performances.
The Golden Globes were announced yesterday which means we now must endure weeks of the “who got snubbed” debates. Personally I do not really care for the Golden Globes. I find they often tend to nominate the films/television shows that will ensure the biggest celebrity turnout for their telecast. Still, I cannot bash the Golden Globes as there are times when they do get their nominations and winners right. One film in particular this year, An Education, has been appearing on many critics' “top ten" lists for Best Pictures of the Year. Surprisingly it did not make the cut for the Globes. The film only received one nomination, Best Actress, for Carey Mulligan’s phenomenal work in the film. Some may consider this a huge snub but I actually think they made the right choice.Set in the early 1960's, sixteen year-old Jenny Mellor (Carey Mulligan)lives with her parents (Alfred Molina and Cara Seymour) in the London suburb of Twickenham. Her father, Jack (Molina), wants nothing more than to see his daughter attend Oxford. Though Jenny is a gifted student, her marks in Latin may hinder her chances of being accepted at the prestigious school. While heading home one day Jenny meets David (Peter Sarsgaard), a charming man more than twice her age. David exposes Jenny to an exciting world that she that she only dreamed about. As Jenny and David become closer, Jenny is forced to question what is the true value of an education?
As coming-of-age tales go, An Education is a rather enjoyable film but far from great. Sure it was nice to see a film like this from a young woman’s perspective that did not involve “magical fitting pants” or a big “prom” scene at the end. The reason this film works well at the level it does is partly because of the era it is set in. Since there were limited options for women at the time, it makes it a little easier to believe that Jenny’s parents would be charmed by this man who is more than twice her age. It also allows for many of the characters to observe what is happening without really speaking up against it.
While I did like the film it must be noted that An Education is rather light on substance. Which is rather odd, especially considering the subject matter that is in the film. The problem is An Education never bothers to give us any real insight into David at all. Sure we see how he gets his money, but you never really see what makes him truly tick. The final arc offers a little snippet but it only serves as a launch point for the all too sweet ending. As a result Sarsgaard is not given much to work with and provides the weakest performance in the whole picture. Peter Sarsgaard is a great actor who usually nails his roles. Yet he only seems to hit one-note, "creepy man-child", through this entire picture. After a while I found myself being more interested in the possible relationship between Jenny and David’s friend, Danny (Dominic Cooper). Come to think of it, I would have preferred if Sarsgaard and Cooper had actually switched roles. Cooper exuded far more charisma in his minor role than Sarsgaard did in the whole picture. Frankly the majority of the cast outshines Sarsgaard in the film.
Carey Mulligan and Alfred Molina are definitely the main reasons that the film kept me interested as long as it did. Mulligan carries the entire film on her back and is nearly flawless will doing so. She provides a refreshing and realistic portrayal of what it is like to be a teenage girl. Although the picture is set in the 1960’s she truly makes her character timeless. Molina is great as Jenny’s father as he hits all the right comedic and dramatic notes. The thing I like about Molina’s work here is that he truly understands his characters motives. Jack only wants the best for his daughter but his ambitions for her success blind him to the reality of the situation. Take away Mulligan and Molina and An Education is really much ado about nothing. While the film is not as deep as it appears to be, An Education is still worth seeing if nothing else for the performances.
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