Muscle

Thought MUSCLE was going to be another average film but from the first 10 minutes I was hooked on the people involved and the story. The acting was excellent specially Craig Fairbrass. Fine direction and the black and white also added to the movie. Well worth the money to get the dvd and have a look.

And also an excellent character study, the tale of the transformation of a man, married with a wife with whom he shares nothing at all and who decides to find a purpose to live, besides his stressful job that always pressurizes him towards performance. The study of human relations, human behavior and pulled from an unusual angle. Craig Fairbrass is outstanding here, for once not in a bad ass role. It's not only a film about bodybuilding, as BODYBUILDER was, but a real drama that also speaks about this sport. It talks about anabolic steroid use in bodybuilding and the dramatic effects on human behavior. I was also amazed by the transformation of the actor playing Simon, I hardly recognized him after 40 minutes, honestly. But if you want to begin training in that sport, maybe this is not the best way to do it; watching this movie, I mean. It denounces a real aspect of bodybuilding, steroid abuse, and it insists heavily on that point. And not only, because it also suggests the fact that this sport stimulazes homosexuality. But I will remind this film as a story about treason, betrayal in friendship. Many things remain unexplained - what the photos are about, what kind of stuff Simon had to smuggle in France, steroids? - but it seems to be the director's trade mark, remember his previous flick HYENA; not the same story but same dark, gloomy, depressing atmosphere and the same directing lines.

I find the film a bit disappointing because the story ends abruptly without any resolution. The final fifteen minutes create so many questions that are not answered.

Very fine performance by Cavan Clerkin as the hapless call centre drone who gets sucked into an ever worsening nightmare via a dubious personal trainer. The sound design is particularly effective, with the sounds of the weights hitting the racks enough to make you recoil from the deafening clatter.

Whatever the opposite of a feel-good film is, this is it, but it holds one"s interest as the protagonist's dilemma becomes increasingly desperate. The black and white cinematography serves the bleak setting and storyline well. The abrupt ending will leave some viewers frustrated, but is certainly preferable to a pat and predictable conclusion that would have been the choice of a Hollywood studio.

I don't normally write reviews but decided to because of some of the poor reviews and low rating which I really don't understand. This film really was enjoyable. Both Cavan Clerkin and Craig Fairbass I thought were exceptional. For their performances alone I would recommend you give this a watch. Craig Fairbass is extremely menacing and so unstable it is hard to feel any ease when he's on screen. Cavan Clerkin played his part perfectly. I was a little disappointed with the ending but I will watch it again so I may change my mind like I do sometimes after giving a movie another look. I believe this film would appeal to an audience in their 30s to 40s more so due to the characters and subject matter.