Ashes

ASHES is an unusual little thriller, shot in the Isle of Man, which I thought came across as bad taste a bit. It stars a headlining Ray Winstone as an Alzheimer's sufferer who's broken out of a nursing home by his son Jim Sturgess. The two then go on a road movie of sorts while events of the past continue to influence the present.

This is a fairly difficult film to enjoy, as it has a slow pace and the characters are resolutely unlikeable from beginning to end. And that's from somebody who likes Winstone as an actor, but I wasn't sure about his character here; I ended up laughing at a couple of his violent outbursts rather than being moved by them.

The thriller aspects of the storyline are rather murky and the dodgy camera-work in the flashbacks also spoils things a bit. The ending I found unsatisfactory too. Sturgess seems one dimensional throughout and it's left to supporting actors like Luke Evans, Jodie Whittaker, and Lesley Manville to hold the fort.

The lead actress made me want her dead in the first 5 minutes. HORRIBLE ACTRESS, everyone else's acting was bad, but she took the cake. The ONLY good thing about the movie was the grandmother-hilarious, good acting. Such an embarrassing face-palm mess of a movie

So Ray Winston is brilliant in his portrayal of a man lost in time, with a tentative grip on reality. This is a dark think piece about relationships, compassion and violence. If you want to see Ray Winston in his usual roles then this isn't for you. He shows real depth and understanding of a horrific condition that leaves someone confused, vulnerable, scared and lost. The journey is incidental and metaphorical, the violence is genuine and not gratuitous. The filming is creative but does not overshadow the story telling.

Best thing I've seen recently.

This film tells the story of a man who has to pick his father up from a mental hospital, and deliver him back home. The father in question is a man with dementia, and has very confused and hallucinatory episodes every now and then.

The first half of "Ashes" tells a story of a demented man, and the soon who tries very hard to cope with the horrible symptoms of the father's dementia. The symptoms are severe but realistic, and it provokes empathy and respect for carers. The second half tells a different story, and I find it confusing and poorly built up. The interweaving flashbacks and reality of the demented man in the bar is very confusing. And the motives of the mysterious man behind the whole thing is beyond comprehension too, as there could have been much easier ways to achieve his goal. Overall, I find the film rather dull and boring.

Most people will be more familiar with Ray Winstone as 'tough-guy' characters, so perhaps that's one reason he's decided to take a break from 'busting heads' and started to show the viewers that he's got more of a 'sensitive' side.

In Ashes, he plays an Alzheimer sufferer who gets 'kidnapped' by his son from the hospital he's been committed to and then taken on a roadtrip across England. Why? Well, that's something you have to find out.

The first thing you need to is that this certainly isn't a 'feel-good' film. It's dark, nasty and certainly not light-hearted in any way. Its major plus-point is Ray Winstone. He plays the part perfectly, switching from scared bouts of violence, to just plain scared. He's the reason this film is worth watching, as the 'story' is somewhat lacking. I was left wondering why exactly these two were driving across country, as it isn't really explained until about the hour mark. Although, that is the time when the film generally starts to pick up.

The first hour - excluding Ray's performance - is pretty hard to sit through. It doesn't really go anywhere and drags by. However, if you can excuse that, it does get better and the last act ties everything up.

If you're a fan of Ray then you'll enjoy this. Otherwise, you'll have to be in the mood for a very dark drama to get something out of this.