OBSERVER: Rourke’s Reviews
Splitsville
(MA). 105 minutes. Opens in selected cinemas September 11.
With romantic comedies having become largely bland and juvenile over recent decades, it is refreshing to see Splitsville, a funny and occasionally bruising film that benefits from a strong cast and some clever writing.
The film opens with married couple Carey (Kyle Marvin, who feels like a cross between John C. Reilly and Jason Clarke) and Ashley (Adria Arjona) on a car trip, singing their favourite song in apparent perfect harmony. Things turn south very quickly as Ashley tells Carey she wants a divorce, sending him running and screaming from the vehicle.
Carey ends up on the doorstep of childhood friend Paul (Michael Angelo Corvino) and his wife Julie (Dakota Johnson), and tells them the bad news.
Carey is shocked when Julie and Paul tell him that they have an open marriage, and this will lead to a moment which will test and shake up multiple relationships, including the pair’s young son, Russ (Simon Webster). Splitsville harks back to the kind of comedy where characters aren’t always likeable, but never lose audience interest.
Co-star/co-writer/director Corvino thankfully doesn’t go for lazy laughs or cookie cutter outcomes, and isn’t afraid to get physical, especially in an extended, impressively staged fight scene that rivals the one in John Carpenter’s sci-fi classic, They Live (1988).
Marvin (who also co-wrote) is the standout, but the entire quartet is excellent.
One wishes the characters of Julie and Ashley were constructed in stronger fashion (Julie oddly disappears during important times in the story, while Ashley seems to take a backseat to her numerous lovers), but there are enough scenes to give both actors a chance to shine.
Those wanting a standard, formulaic romantic comedy will be disappointed, maybe even baffled, by Splitsville.
But those wanting something a little left-of-centre, should be suitably rewarding.
RATING – ***½
Caught Stealing
(MA). 107 minutes. Now showing in cinemas.
Following the artificial, hollow and unsatisfying The Whale (which received wild praise and an Oscar for Brendan Fraser), director Darren Aronofsky (Pi, Requiem For A Dream, Mother!) makes a huge return to form with Caught Stealing, which while openly embracing its influences, also makes sure it has a beating heart all its own.
Set in 1998, Austin Butler stars as Hank, a once-promising baseball player who works at a New York bar, and loves to consume the stock, much to the concern of his maybe girlfriend Yvonne (Zoe Kravitz), who wants their relationship to be something more serious.
When Hank’s punk neighbour Russ (Matt Smith) suddenly has to leave town, forcing him to take care of his cat, Bud, it will unknowingly lead him into a criminal world which will turn his world upside down. Advertised as yet another Tarantino/Ritchie clone, Caught Stealing is so much more than that, with Charlie Huston’s screenplay (based on his novel) anchored by flesh-and-blood characters, who are genuinely bewildered and terrified by the brutal world they’ve been dragged into. Aronofsky brings tremendous energy to the material (and pairs once more with cinematographer Matthew Libatique, to stunning effect), concentrating on the human factor first, ensuring plot turns have maximum impact.
Writer and director also allow the audience to encounter the escalating situation at the same time Hank does, keeping us on our toes, while the lack of high-tech prevents everyone from being ahead of what is going on.
The increasingly threatening journey is certainly inspired by Martin Scorsese’s brilliant After Hours (1985), and Aronofsky isn’t afraid to show his love for that film, but never at the expense of the story he is telling.
On top of that, he is obviously enjoying being back on the chaotic streets of New York, which was the setting for his incredible, 1998 debut feature, Pi.
Butler is outstanding as Hank, bringing a real humanity to a flawed individual, while Kravitz exudes a kindness and patience with Yvonne.
The whole cast bring their best to the large gallery of eccentric, and/or intimidating characters. While there is that particular blend of humour and violence that many modern crime films have in the wake of Tarantino, Caught Stealing is more interested in the people that populate this criminal milieu, and with a strong script as its foundation, allows an absolute in-form director and cast to deliver first-rate entertainment.
RATING – ****
The Roses
(MA). 105 minutes. Now showing in cinemas.
While not in the same league as Danny DeVito’s very dark 1989 version, this rather toothless adaptation of Warren Adler’s 1981 novel begins well enough, but sputters out as it goes on, hesitant to go to those dark places the earlier film did.
Olivia Colman and Benedict Cumberbatch are great, and Tony McNamara’s screenplay delivers the occasional spark (particularly in the first act), but stumbles as things turn sour (the supporting characters fall flat).
The couple’s brutal confrontation is left until the last 10 minutes, which is heavily diluted, strange when the screenplay is by Tony McNamara, the writer of Poor Things and The Favourite.
RATING – **½
Aaron Rourke