Animals

Laura (Holliday Grainger) is an aspiring writer in her early 30's who is struggling to get started. She meets party girl Tyler (Alia Shawkat) and they spend their nights in drink, drugs, and partying. Laura starts to tap into a domestic life which is resented by Tyler.

This kind of late coming of age story has been done plenty of times before. The only thing missing is an overdose which usually wakes up the character. The other thing that I expected but is missing is some kind of gay panic scene. In the end, this movie fizzles out rather than explodes and that's kinda poetic. It's oddly sweet and touching. Of course, writing about her life is expected right from the start.

'Animals (2019)' tells the unconventional coming-of-age of two party animals forced to face reality when one of them gets engaged. This strains their strong, ten-year-long friendship and causes both to question their lifestyles, in their own ways. The often-inebriated pair seem to sleepwalk through the day and come alive at night, taking copious amounts of drugs (both legal and not so legal), staying out all night and sleeping with strangers - all under the pretence of 'rallying against the system'. Grainger's writer's-block-ridden aspiring-novelist seems to purposefully seek a catalyst for change after realising a large portion of her life has passed her by, whereas Shawkat's no-aspirations barista seems to constantly lament the very concept. This push and pull forms the basis for film's dramatic underpinning, leading to a grounded and rather nuanced story of self-actualisation - or the struggle for it, at least. While it does conform to the conventions of its genre, it feels actually incredibly natural; in the moment, all sense of it being a movie falls away in favour of a far more realistic feel. This is, in large part, thanks to the imperfections of pretty much every core player. The two leads, especially, are presented not as 'likeable' but as 'honest', making them all the more empathetic. It all appears quite effortless but it's actually the result of a fantastic screenplay. Of course, this is brought to life by equally brilliant performances, assured direction and often-inspired cinematography. The movie starts off a little slow but it soon settles into its own pace and becomes extremely engaging. It weaves relatable themes into a plot peppered with situations of all differing sorts - whether they be funny, charming, saddening or frustrating - and a central relationship that's as compelling a pairing as we've seen all year. It's bold, vital and, most importantly, enjoyable. 7/10

This film was supposed to be about the relationship between Laura and Tyler. It's a special friendship but there's dangerous side. Unfortunately the film wanders way off course and the last third of the film explores Laura cheating on her fiance. Is she doing this (subconciously) so she can stay with Tyler? Didn't come across that way. I think the screenwriter urgently needed to sit down and cut a lot out of the movie and focus on what it was really about. Basically we needed more Tyler.

We also urgently needed to see these characters at their day jobs. Laura says she's a waitress (I think). We needed to see her struggling through an awful hungover day. Or being fired for showing up late. We see them drinking through the week but there's not much flipside. There's no consequences.

Probably the most glaring oddity is the scene where Tyler (apparently) steals a jar of unspecified drugs (MDMA crystals? methamphetamine?). It's a truly hefty quantity presumably worth many thousands of euros. How did they get away with this? Why isn't there someone hunting for it?

This was another Cineworld Unlimited preview showing, so this film isn't released in the UK until early August (2019).

Laura (Holliday Grainger) and Tyler (Alia Shawkat) are two late twenty-somethings partying their way to an early death through drink, drugs and lack of sleep in Dublin. They are co-habiting best friends, with Laura a hugely unsuccessful part-time novelist and Tyler a barista. But these "professions" are just to fill the day and provide cash (SURELY not enough!?) to fuel their nights.

They are swimming against the current of convention, but when Laura falls for concert pianist Jim (Fra Fee), and 'settling down' starts to look like an option, then this begins to put a terrible strain on their friendship.

I have to admit that I really didn't enjoy this film. I'm sure it's technically very strong - with great cinematography and (at times) thoughtful script. But I had absolutely no empathy with any of the characters involved. They were driftless individuals leading vacuous hedonistic lives. I just wanted to shake them by the shoulders and shout in their faces "Are you going to be happy with what you've done in your life on your death bed?"

I often talk about "story arcs" in my blog. For example, the "man in a hole" story arc is "happy-sad-happy" through the film. The story arc of this film is "miserable unpleasant people feeling wretched, then slightly less wretched, then wretched again". It was just not a winning formula for me.

I see that the film is described on imdb as a "comedy drama". I think they are shooting for sort of a female version of "Withnail and I". But, to be honest, while there were a few funny lines that raised a smile, I don't think it was funny enough to merit that description. I certainly didn't remotely agree with the "Hilarious" quote on the poster.

Honest to God, I don't think there is a single frame of this film where there is not wine being poured or drugs being snorted. "You drink with a real sense of mortality", dodgy poet Marty (Dermot Murphy) tells Laura. (This is a great line from scriptwriter Emma Jane Unsworth's script). I can't find what the budget of this film was, but it wouldn't surprise me if 80% of it wasn't spent on bottles of Jacob's Creek. I expected to see a "wine wrangler" listed in the end titles.

It's not a great example to set for young people for sure, and it well deserves its UK15 certificate. With its drug taking, heavy drinking and casual (and morally bankrupt) sex, if I was on the BBFC I would have be lobbying for an 18 certificate.

In terms of the cast, Holliday Grainger is excellent and believable in the role of the aimless drifter suddenly finding an anchor. Another really great performance. Equally good is Alia Shawkat, an actress unknown to me. She gets across brilliantly the desperation of a lost soul losing her soulmate. (I just had trouble separating her character in my mind from Rizzo in "Grease". If they ever remake that film, she would be a shoe-in for the role made famous by Stockard Channing.) By the way, if you're trying to pin down where you've seen Fra Fee's striking features before (it was bugging me) he played the part of Courfeyrac in the film version of "Les Miserables".

Made by Sophie Hyde it's an interesting and well made film. As such, I don't want to give it a savage rating. Many may enjoy it. I personally didn't, and wouldn't watch it again. The primary benefit I got from seeing it was again registering Holliday Grainger as an acting force that I will watch out for in future films.

(For the full graphical review, please check out One Mann's Movies on t'internet or Facebook. Thanks. )

So I get the point of this movie ,, girl gotta be her own self .. If she wants to be someone she's trying to be she should not be depending on a husband or a friend or whatever ... I mean cool idea .. not original though ,, didn't read the book ,, but I watched an interview once for Emma Jane Unsworth (the writer of ANIMALS the book) and she kinda gave a clear idea that she wants an all girl movie just because girl power ... which is amazing, don't get me wrong.. but apparently the book itself isn't that strong for this ...

The cast were okay though,, I like Alia Shawkat, she's like 30 now but she still has that funny quirky overstepping girl kinda vibes and she had a good back and forth with Holliday Grainger ,, anyway, the script, hence the book, didn't help but still the whole cast tried.

Anyway, this is not a good choice for a family movie night ,, but If you feel like there's literally nothing to watch ,, try to find some old DVDs you have or something, and if you couldn't then Aaah what the heck, you can watch it , who know's you might not hate it.