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Post by nell on Apr 18, 2014 9:42:01 GMT
Am I the last one on the planet to realise Missy Keating who plays Carlo Grace's daughter is Ronan Keating's daughter? A mixed review from the Telegraph I particularly agree with this bit " perfect casting and winning performances" www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/filmreviews/10772451/The-Sea-review-handsome-but-damp.htmlDespite perfect casting and winning performances, John Banville's Booker-winning novel doesn't quite breathe independently on screen, says Tim Robey 12A cert, 86 min dir: Stephen Brown; stars: Ciarán Hinds, Charlotte Rampling, Sinéad Cusack, Natascha McElhone, Rufus Sewell, Bonnie Wright John Banville won the Booker Prize in 2005 for The Sea, a typically ruminative, linguistically playful treatise on grief, memory and old age. It’s an odd choice for a film adaptation, even with a tight-lipped screenplay by Banville himself and a perfectly cast Ciarán Hinds as the book’s narrator, widowed art historian Max Morden. What’s impressionistic on the page has to be re-sculpted and honed to a point on screen, but the result is that the novel’s tenderly hidden secrets become rather blatant twists. Banville straddles three timelines: Max’s childhood, which was a seemingly carefree idyll of lolling on the beach; the last months he spent at the bedside of his dying wife, Anna (a nicely bitter Sinéad Cusack); and his return to those childhood beaches, as a resident in the guesthouse of a smiling spinster called Mrs Vavasour. This latter role is so perfectly tailored to the slightly creepy elegance of Charlotte Rampling, you're fairly sure she knows more than she’s letting on. As we shuttle between past and present, both casting and costuming further give the game away. Shot with some verve on the coast of south east Ireland, it’s a handsome and painstaking effort, though rarely one which breathes independently as a film. Hinds is becoming a stalwart, an immensely reliable underactor, and retrieves as much as he can from a character whose inner life feels somehow left behind on the page. As Max’s 12-year-old self, smitten with the curves of Natascha McElhone as a radiant yummy mummy, Matthew Dillon makes a roguishly winning screen debut. But there’s nothing director Stephen Brown can do about Banville’s ending – a novelist’s device, rendered damply literal when it’s up there on the screen.
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Post by kygal on Apr 18, 2014 10:30:54 GMT
Thanks for this interesting review.
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Post by kitty on Apr 18, 2014 17:11:22 GMT
Ah what do they know, lol? That's why I never listen to reviews, especially where Rufus is concerned.
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Post by midoro on Apr 18, 2014 20:42:08 GMT
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Post by kygal on Apr 19, 2014 11:57:06 GMT
Thanks. Like the high caliber acting and mildly crazy Carlos part. Cant wait to hear Rooftopper reviews.
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Post by GreenEyesToo on Apr 20, 2014 19:23:59 GMT
Thanks for the links, ladies - I liked the "mildly crazy! comment, too! Another:
A notable cast brings Banville’s fascinating characters to life. Ciarán Hinds, with his craggy face, impresses as the dilettante, worn by his experiences and troubled by his memories. Charlotte Rampling gives Miss Vavasour appropriate mysteriousness, while Sinéad Cusack ably takes some of the more memorable lines as the dying Anna. Rufus Swell’s swaggering turn as Carlo Grace brings an enjoyable roguery, enlivening the film’s grim mood.
filmireland.net/2014/04/17/cinema-review-the-sea/
(and while Rufus certainly is swell, it's a pity about the typo!)
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Post by nell on Apr 20, 2014 20:42:00 GMT
I think "mildly crazy" is quite a good description of Carlo Grace Natascha MeElhone was interviwed on Lorraine earlier this week. It's available for 2 more days on itv player www.itv.com/itvplayer/lorraine/16-04-2014The interview starts at 15.33 there's also a clip of The Sea which might be new to some.
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Post by Petruchio - Good God on Apr 20, 2014 22:21:56 GMT
for the Links ...
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Post by kygal on Apr 21, 2014 10:32:54 GMT
Thanks!
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Post by nell on Apr 27, 2014 10:12:44 GMT
Went to see The Sea for the second time and enjoyed it even more. It's a fantstic quirky role for Rufus and he did a fantastic job with it. I just can't understand why it hasn't been more widely publicised and shown in more cinemas. John Banville commented in a recent interview that you need to read a book twice. The first time you're just working out what's happening and the second time you actually notice what's going on (my words). I agree. Well, it's certainly true of this book and I think that goes for the film too. Hope you all get to see it on the big screen. Edited to add. They showed an advert for the F Type Jag with a couple of fairly well known British actors in it . It was sadly lacking though. Rufus should have starred.............
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Post by GreenEyesToo on Apr 27, 2014 10:36:46 GMT
I've seen it, too, and it's a wonderful role for Rufus - very quirky and playful, and actually not really a cameo as I'd expected - it's a bit more substantial than that.
The film itself is a bit ponderous, so it needed Carlo/Rufus's energy to lift it, which he did with his usual effortless flair. Lots of different accents and humorous expressions. The whole thing was beautifully filmed but the pace is slow, and it won't be to everyone's taste.
I really do want to see him and Natascha McElhone team up again.
I agree with Nell, this deserved to have been more widely-screened.
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Post by kygal on Apr 27, 2014 11:04:12 GMT
Without spoiling things, did it follow the book?
Not sure it will be shown on the big screen here. Will keep an eye out.
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Post by nell on Apr 27, 2014 11:16:45 GMT
It followed the book very closely Kygal. They added to Carlo's role too which I'd normally be in favour of but I felt it skewed my view of him as a character. I actually wish they'd left that out and shown more of him in other ways. I hope that doesn't give anything away. I realise it probably doesn't make much sense either
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Post by kygal on Apr 28, 2014 11:19:39 GMT
Thanks Nell. Sounds interesting!
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Post by barbicanbelle on Apr 29, 2014 19:29:32 GMT
I managed to watch it too, and I thought it was a great shame that apart from me and Mr BB, there were only 5 more viewers in the cinema in London! I agree it is a difficult book to film and think they've done a wonderful job, with some tremendous acting, not just from our Mr Sewell. What a pity that more people are not drawn to literary adaptations. Do watch it if you can.
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