A fragile state of mind clings to the top-notch life affirming movies of Never Let Me Go and True Grit

Never Let Me Go: the movie deftly captured the same sadness and poignancy as Kazuo Ishiguro Booker shortlisted book

For reasons professional and recreational I haven’t had much sleep this week. I wouldn’t recommend it as a regular occurrence -it makes the tiniest of tasks appear like a marauding Colossus on the horizon (blue socks or red? I’m currently barefoot).

Join 1,610 other subscribers.

Having said that even a daily average of five hours still isn’t psychologically destroying enough to pick the wheat from the chaff of this week’s film releases -Yogi Bear can go bury his head in a pic-a-nic basket for all I care, and after the oxymoronic (moronic being the operative word) title of Grown Ups, Adam Sandler isn’t fooling me again with Just Go With It.

As a rule, I have no power over what I watch. Karma and film executives steer the course of my filmic journey. But a combination of film release schedules and other work commitments meant I had to jettison some titles. Needless to say the draw of the Coen brother’s True Grit and Never Let Me Go held more sway over my hazy brain function than the residents of Jellystone Park.

I viewed them back-to-back and having read the source novel I opted for Never Let Me Go to kick things off. I’d need Rooster Cogburn to supply a serious pick me up afterwards if the film was anything like Kazuo Ishiguro’s subtle and beautiful work.

Hullo...

Thank you for reading. We could do with your help to keep going. All our content is free... But if you can, you can support us to continue bringing you this coverage, these articles, interviews and reviews. This connection with real indie filmmakers.

It's here we encourage you to get out, watch indie films, support crowdfunders, go to your local venue.

And if you can, Pay What You Can to keep all this going. From £1 a week - £4 a month - a fiver, or whatever you can spare. Much appreciated.

I’m blaming my current fragile state of mind for the ease at which I blubbed like a little girl at the end of Never Let Me Go, but there is so much more to it than that. It’s a perfect adaptation, retaining all the sadness and poignancy of the book with a deft touch. All helped by some wonderfully intimate camera work and performances from Carey Mulligan, Andrew Garfield and Keira Knightley.

The quality continued to flow as I headed straight for the screen at the other end of the building and True Grit, pausing only to allow the grabbing of a quick caffeine supplement.

I like my Westerns with more spaghetti than cheese. Give me Clint Eastwood and Charles Bronson’s brooding anti-heroes over John Wayne’s white hats/black hats any day. I’m not one of those who consider Wayne’s work unsurpassable, so when the Coen Brothers announced they were having a crack at an adaptation more faithful to the novel, I was on board.

What followed was one of the best entries into the Western genre since Clint Eastwood decided bullets worked better than names. There isn’t a single weak link in the entire production. The Coen’s have such a knack for producing screenplays of the highest quality that it seems almost churlish to even mention that they’ve succeeded once again, but it is executed to such an incredible degree by the cast that it would be wrong not to.

Top honours of course go to Jeff Bridges, what more can you say other than genuine original star quality? Matt Damon is heroic and comedic in equal measure as stuffed shirt LeBoeuf. While new find Hailee Steinfeld as Mattie Ross is a little acting cyclone, full of energy and determination, a revelation; even more so considering this is her first major film. As for the photography, Torquay’s own Roger Deakins is one of the leading cinematographers of his generation, pure and simple. Overall a true Western adventure.

Both of the films deal with the theme of life, what you do with the time you’re allowed, however short or long it is. They have filled me with the inspiration to seize my existence with both hands and strive for the best in all my endeavours whatever they may be with a stout heart and an eager spirit. I’ll get to it right after this nap

About
Latest Posts

Paul Moxham

Born and raised in Devon, a life of growing up in the fresh country air was scuppered from an early age after a trip to see The Jungle Book secured my love of cinema and meant weekends spent in the dark going to see whatever was showing. Despite that I havenâ€™t grown up to be a real life Gollum and began working for Radio Devon as a broadcast assistant. After years of fanatically telling family and friends what they should be watching I got the opportunity to inflict my opinion upon a wider audience and become film reviewer for the station just over a year ago. Sweeping dramas and action blockbusters arenâ€™t without their charms but the real thrill of this job is finding a smaller hidden gem of a film that may have escaped wider notice and putting as big a spotlight on it as I can.