City Loop

When I watch a film for the first time I tend to go in with an open mind, block all pre-conceptions. Teen movies are often sneered at by critics as simply being boring, cliched tales of adolescent love and insecurity - indeed some teen films fit this description, but City Loop (or Bored Olives as I prefer) does not. I caught Bored Olives at 1.50 AM on Channel 4 a while back and was thoroughly entertained. Despite its low-budget the direction and acting are excellent. Set against the amazingly atmospheric and tranquil backdrop of late-night, inner-city Brisbane the film focusses on the lives of a group of young takeaway workers who are, as-per-usual in teen films, bored with their lives and apprehensive regarding their futures. Filmed as a set of intertwining short stories (each character is given their own story), the films main and most endearing characters are Ryan Stapleton who stars as Dom, and Stacey, played by the stunning Megan Dorman in grunge mode. The worst thing about some film critics are their pre-conceptions regarding certain genres, and reviews of Bored Olives have, in my humble opinion, suffered from this. Very similar to the American flick, 'Empire Records', Bored Olives is good entertainment with no pretensions - i.e. it does not pretend to be what it isn't. The characters might be slightly shallow and skin-deep, but thats not what we want in a film like this. Go into Bored Olives with an open mind and you will enjoy.

A group of teenage workers in Speedy's Anytime pizza delivery parlor have different evenings that intertwine with each other round work. However each are bored and a little disillusioned with their lives. The evening sees some dramatic events in their young lives.

I didn't have high hopes for this film – I assumed it was going to be the usual teen angst stuff set in Australia featuring a bunch of characters I could care less about. And in a way I was right, the basic plot(s) are the usual run of mill things. However the stories are quite cool and are aided by a clever quirk. Each characters story is told fully and separately (not original I know- but still effective), and they intertwine. This means we see events that happen later in other stories but they aren't explained till then.

The downside is that this is a gimmick and gets old before the film ends. The other downside is that the plots are sometimes too daft and other times too ponderous and navel-contemplating. This isn't helped by the characters being mostly selfish teenagers who think their lives are the be all and end all of everything. The actors don't help this much – they're OK, but they allow their roles to become stereotypes too easily. It has some comedy but mostly this is a teen drama that deals with things like `being a virgin', `cuming too early', `breaking up with girlfriend' etc etc.

Overall it passed the time. The story telling gimmick helped for the most part, but it started to drag before the end and wasn't much fun to watch. Teen angst dramas have been done much better than this.

It's been like 1,5 year ago that I've seen the movie, but I frequently think back about it. And when I read the previous comment, I realized what specific detail made me like this movie so much: the emptiness! The previous person on this board didn't like the fact that there were no cars or extra to be seen, and he supposed that Miss Chayko did it on purpose to give a sphere of loneliness. That's a possibility, but even when the reason is simply that there was no money for extras, I don't care: it gave the movie its unique atmosphere.

And I also agree that Miss Chayko will, one day, certainly make a great movie!

I'm finding this very difficult to write. After a few false starts I realise how hard it is to properly convey the unusual badness of "City Loop". It's not that it's VERY bad - "insufferably bad" is the strongest phrase I'd use - but it is, unlike many bad things, INDISPUTABLY bad. Moreover (and this is a different thing again) I don't see how anyone could take pleasure in watching it.

It's a multi-story ensemble pic in which the stories aren't really stories (they're CALLED stories - "Dom's Story", "Misha's Story", etc., but nothing to speak of happens in them), and the ensemble consists entirely of characters I found it impossible, and I mean IMPOSSIBLE, to take any interest in. (What I wanted to happen was ALWAYS whatever would bring the film to a merciful end.) All characters are amoral and inarticulate, they all move through the world at random, none of them have redeeming qualities (few of them even have qualities). Chayko tries to swindle us into caring by leaving crucial matters unexplained (an excuse to make us watch some scenes TWICE, as if once weren't bad enough), but it doesn't work.

I haven't exhausted the film's weaknesses. Photography is unattractive - although I get the feeling it probably wasn't the cinematographer's fault; it feels rather as if Chayko took the poor man (or woman - I fled as soon as the credits began, so I wouldn't know) to some ugly, bare location, asked him to film the ugliest part of it, and then tied his (/her) hands by firing the lighting technician. The music is also pretty drab. The best thing going for it is the fact that, although it seems as though it will never end, it really doesn't last very long.

Let me start by saying that I am big fan of art-house films that are most interested in exploring characters, treating them as people, and discovering the reasons behind their actions. Consequently my all-time favourite directors include Robert Altman (Short Cuts, Pret-a-Porter) and Paul Thomas Anderson (Magnolia, Boogie Nights). These directors take a mosaic of characters, and mould them into a spiderweb of interconnecting lives and situations. Also, more importantly, They Do It Well...

City Loop is a film that has the same feel as these films. It chooses characters such as: a sexually-inexperienced teenage guy who reveals his insecurity regarding sex; a girl who's in love with a gay guy; the promiscuous teenage girl always looking for attention - it seems that she just wants to be loved. The actors used in City Loop to portray these characters don't appear to accomplished actors in their own right, their dialogue isn't generally delivered realistically. What redeems their performances seems to be whatever techniques Chayko uses to access the emotional memory banks of the actors. She does it so well, in fact, that many of the scenes have powerful emotional charge. This is why I compare her to Paul Thomas Anderson, who uses actors who don't stand out in the sea of Hollywood actors, yet give outstanding performances in his films (eg John C. Reilly). This is one of the areas where she is a highly accomplished film-maker, giving her huge potential.

I didn't actually find this film entirely enjoyable. I was certainly interested and intrigued with the characters from start to finish, but was left with an unpleasant after-taste. What lets this film down is the music, too many coincidental meetings in such a large city, and a lack of all the "bits" that "juice up" the film and make it realistic, bringing the environment to life. The music is dull, and far too infrequent. Music should be used to compliment and intensify the emotions of the characters. Another thing that leaves a bad taste in your mouth, is the emptiness of the city, and the pizza store. This may well have been a technique used by Chayko to represent the coldness of the city, but with no further reference to that concept in the film, I'll have to assume it to be a fault. All that is needed is extras walking the streets, and cars to fill the roads to give the city the life that it should have.

In conclusion, though this film leaves a lot to be desired, I believe that Chayko may one day make a truly great film in the tradition of Happiness or Magnolia. Until then, I will certainly follow her career with a close watchful eye.