Guy X

This film is about a military man being mistakenly posted to a Greenland base.

The problem with this film is that it tries to be comedy, thriller and mystery all at one time. The end result is that it does not succeed in any of the genres. It started off as light hearted, such as the mosquito combat right at the beginning. However, after that it became more and more serious. In the end, we are supposed to get emotional. However, I did not feel this way at all.

It was probably because of the strange accent used by some of the characters as well. I had trouble understanding what they say.

I think it could have been a good film, if it could stick to just one genre.

With all due respect for the previous reviewer, it makes no sense to review a film based on that reviewer's perception about what the cast and crew's attitude was like at a screening! I was at the same screening (I think the premiere was the previous night), and you can hardly blame the cast and crew for giving mostly funny answers to the questions - they were asked about whether they had eaten puffin, what it's like to film in Iceland etc, rather than about the film's content (except at the end, when some freaky stalker-type in the front row asked whether the film had any 'hidden messages'!?!).

"Guy X" is a serious film, with a light touch that means that it's unpredictable and non- generic. Some might find the way it moves tonally quite disorientating, but I think that that is what keeps it fresh. On top of that, it's beautifully crafted - only a blind person couldn't find the images arresting.

And, Jason Biggs really puts in a fine performance. Actually, I think he performs really well in "American Pie" too - he's required to do different types of acting in the two films and manages it with flying colours. I read on the internet that he won the Best Actor performance at the festival that the film had its world premiere.

If you want to see something generic, bland and predictable, avoid this film!

An engaging storyline and suggestions that it is in the mould of Catch 22 or M*A*S*H suggest great things for Guy X. A man is dropped off by plane at a remote army post in Greenland. His identity has changed, there is no way of correcting the records, and no way of getting off the base. He stumbles on something that people would rather keep hidden, and is also attracted to the commanding officer's girlfriend – all of which, together with a very crazy bunch of colleagues, puts him in some quirky and irreverent danger.

Adapted from a well received novel (No One Thinks of Greenland), Guy X should be a resounding success but sadly falls rather short of the mark. Natascha McElhone performs admirably, but her performance is not enough to carry a lacklustre screenplay, fuzzy directing, a miscast leading man (Jason Biggs) and supporting characters with insufficient talent. For American Pie (Biggs' earlier success), such shallow efforts might have been adequate, but Metzstein is clearly trying to make an art-house movie (he said as much at the UK premiere) without the necessary skills. The film lacks pace and is very unengaging. Falling asleep in it seems more interesting than caring about whether characters' identities are being administrated out of existence. By the end of the film you might be holding on to see if there is going to be a final explanation, or you might be past caring whether there is one.

McElhone and her colleagues, in the Q&A at its Edinburgh premiere, waxed lyrical about the book, the themes of isolation, and what it does to people (she seemed more serious about the film than the director or co-stars who mostly just joked). She convinced me there was a good story there, but also that as a talented actress she had nevertheless misplaced her faith in the team to pull it off. There is no more depth apparent to the characters antics than characters from, errr . . . American Pie. If Biggs and Metzstein want to make the jump to serious cinema, they need to go back to school first. With such a finely nuanced story, the lead actor should be able to exhibit a depth of charisma or otherwise maintain interest in a way that goes far beyond the demands of an action flick or lowbrow comedy. A director must convince an audience with sufficient skill and sincerity to get them to work harder than they would for popcorn entertainment. For this viewer at least, such things were not achieved in Guy X.

On the positive side, McElhone is interesting, it was a great idea, and the choice of sets is unusual. If that is enough to get you to spend your money, go for it – otherwise you might want to stay at home until this crew become more mature and deliver the sort of film that many believe they are capable of. Good ideas alone do not a successful piece of cinema make.

The establishing shots introduce a seemingly endless and dreary vista, a concept that the film then exploits with poor acting and a mundane story line.

Set on a US Army base in Greenland Saul Metzstein shoehorns in some unsophisticated communist imagery, made more obvious from wooden badly cast characters. The moralising of the story is minimised by the inability to sympathise or engage with the characters.

There is no chemistry between Biggs and McElhone. It seemed unbelievable to me that strong and intelligent Irene Teal would fall so naively for bullying Lane Woolwrap. Unfortunately Biggs will always be the guy who did 'that' to the Apple Pie.

The 'engaging hooks' the film presents are so tedious that once truths are exposed in the final act they create no greater emotional response than disinterest.

This is an interesting military comedy about a G.I. (Jason Biggs) who is misassigned to Greenland instead of Hawaii. What is even worse, it that he is supposed to be a Public Information Officer, and the CO (Jeremy Northam) wants a newspaper.

Being that I have been on remote bases (Hofn Iceland) and have also produced a base newspaper as an extra duty, it was of interest to me. The cinematography was outstanding, although it was actually Iceland in the film, not Greenland.

Biggs (American Pie), Northam (Gosford Park, Happy Texas), and Natascha McElhone (Solaris, Ronin) all gave good performance that kept you interested, but not completely satisfied. Biggs certainly enhanced his credibility as an actor in this film.

Guy X? well, that is something for you to discover.