Bill_Bones

Personally I'd given up on the beeb ever producing a solid working class drama again. So when I glimpsed Drop Dead Gorgeous' first series when it repeated on BBC1 I thought it must be a British film that had previously passed me by but to my surprise it was a series.

And what a series it is. Cracking along at a pace more in line with Channel Four's output, yet grounded with a definite representation of real life, it manages more in its hour slot than some movies. It's so good to see the beeb producing TV that is consistently funny, exciting and moving whilst feeling highly contemporary. Seeing as the people behind the show are credited with the likes of Shameless it's not hard to see where this bold style of drama is coming from.

With only one episode currently remaining it's obvious that, with the right exposure, the first two series of Drop Dead Gorgeous will be regarded as TV gold.

I knew that this film wasn't going to be a work of genius before watching it but I hadn't counted on it being so incredibly average. With plenty of talented performers and an interesting premise it's an incredible shame that Driving Lessons only ever hits one note.

Grint's Ben is neither funny or particularly sympathetic. The potential layers and emotional depth to this shy character are completely bypassed for repetitions of his simplicity and niceness. One of the most frustratingly unmotivated characters in recent cinema history, Ben's unconvincing drippiness is most emphasised in a four minute romance that tells us nothing about his character other than, you guessed it, he's a bit shy and nice.

Throughout we're aware of Grint's talent hiding somewhere, trying to get out but the stalled script simply won't let him. Such a shame. Walters actually has very little to do, her character equally one dimensional. Where's the wit? The aim is for an intelligent woman yet we get no sense of that and instead we just get a bit sweary and nice.

The film's biggest fault is that it feels totally under directed, no choices seem to have been made. There's no edge to dialogues, no genuine meaning or subtext resulting in a pic with all the depth of a puddle.

Why do British films keep giving us dated portrayals of, supposedly, contemporary middle England? Christian community in outer London? Hmmm.... I don't think most people here know anyone like Linney's character. Which would be fine were she not a one note monster. I want to know how Ben feels about his religious belief in the wake of her actions but I came away from the movie having learnt nothing about him.

Words fail me in the face of a film with as much potential as this being so unremittingly crap. For a teen, coming of age comedy this is a very bland, unadventurous pic. A very badly made one too. Such a shame.

Reading the reviews describing this movie clearly reveals that it was badly marketed. Perhaps it needed to be. However it is intriguing how far people's expectations differed from the actual film. I would have assumed that Malick was enough of an auteur for most people to know what they were expecting. Evidently not; his name doesn't seem to appear on the cover of my DVD...

Badlands, Days of Heaven and The Thin Red Line are amongst the most important cinematic treats out there, so why is this only an 8 out of 10 film? Well, strangely, The New World appears as both his most compromised and his most meandering work. Not a good mix, especially for the *ahem* "average" cinema goer. The seemingly compromised element, in my opinion, lies in the rating. Malick's magic rawness is just a little too timid here. The film simply isn't as terrifying in its depiction of violence and deprivation as it needs to be. Also the softly-softly-she's-underage approach to the central love affair doesn't have very far to go after the initial electrifying encounters.

The meandering is not a problem for anyone with half a brain. It's just not quite as satisfying a narrative as it could have been. The way Malick has explored themes in previous films is what makes him a genuine artist. Here that approach starts slowly and doesn't quite hit his previous highwater mark.

Malick's use of editing, almost as prose uses tenses, was first really started in Days of Heaven. By The Thin Red Line the juxtapositions this effect created made for stunning, eloquent cinema. Here, though, they serve to muddle character motivations. You could blame Colin Farrell for not giving enough but I think he does a very solid job. No, I think this is just a plain script issue. A script that might have been well served by a touch more intention.

However, there are moments in this film that, unless you're braindead or have no soul, will catch your breath at their beauty. This isn't some wry, overly intellectual piece of art; no this is straight to the gut, sobbing like a baby art. The genuinely magical interaction between light, sound, music and performance is as haunting as ever. Q'Oriaanka Kilcher delivers something amazing here; fresh with amazing innocence and deep, knowing sorrow. Farrell conveys a similar depth of joy and sadness that really makes their love believable.

Malick's The New World is that rare cinema treat: art made at a Hollywood budget and it deserves to be seen for that alone, even though it is not his most satisfying work. The story simply muddles character motivation instead of complicating it. If you're willing to exchange that for a sensitive collection of poetic moments you'll be happy. If not do not see it. Simple as.

It is sad that so many people hate it, quite what they expected I don't know. An action epic with goodies and baddies? Surely not... No one's that stupid... Are they?