kevgill

One criticism that could easily have been levelled at The Blair Witch Project was that it seemed unrealistic that the film-makers would hold onto their cameras and keep filming rather than focus all of their attention on saving their own lives. Clearly though the extraordinary footage recorded in 9/11 proves that this would be an unfair criticism.

Is the documentary film-maker a freak of nature who has an innate desire to record and share his experiences at whatever cost, or a desperate, cynical journalist who will do what it takes to get a scoop? Whatever their motivation, we must be thankful to the two French cameraman who have provided us with this incredible document of the day that changed the world forever. What a shame though, that they handed it over to a production company who have proceeded to sensationalize it to an almost embarrassing extent.

Cliched or not, the statement "it was just like watching a film" was said by virtually everyone who saw the news on September 11th 2001. How ironic then, that this is exactly what this footage has become. The production team have gone to painstaking efforts to provide a narrative, to create drama and evoke emotion. If ever there was an occasion where this manipulation was not necessary then surely the attacks on the World Trade Center was it?

The importance and immediacy of the footage, its very status as a document of an event, is compromised by a variety of external, unnecessary factors : De Niro's narration ("Nothing could have prepared them for what was to happen next!"), obtrusive voiceovers, accompanying music, slo-mos (you never see the real time footage of the first plane hitting the tower) and camera confessions which, particularly in one case, seem scripted and forced. The more the footage is tweaked and fiddled with, the less dramatic and more manipulative it becomes.

The original plan of the French cameramen was to film a rookie fireman through training and his first few months on the job amongst New York's finest. A fairly interesting subject matter, but surely one that should have been scrapped when they eventually recorded unprecedented footage of the most important event in recent history. Yet we still follow Tony the fireman through training, we still hear his hopes and fears about his future, we still see him ingratiating himself with his new unit. Essentially we get to know Tony just so that a cliffhanger can be created - will Tony survive or won't he? We do not see any of his camera confessions until after it is confirmed that he is alive. It's not that I don't care about this (I was of course hoping that he would survive) but more that I shouldn't have had to worry about it. Why did they feel the need to purposely create drama? It really is quite perplexing.

Hence I spent as much time watching 9/11 sighing and shaking my head as I did crying and lamenting the terrible event that was passing before my eyes. I have never seen footage like it and possibly (and hopefully) never will. The terrified eyes of the people in the lobby looking up as human bodies land on the building will send a shiver down my spine until the day I die. I am thankful that I no longer live in ignorance of the true horror that people went through that day.

Warning: This review may spoil your enjoyment of the film if you have not seen it.

There is clear irony in a sign outside a gas station in ‘Monster's Ball' that reads ‘Georgia is just peachy.' The Georgia of Marc Forster's bleak and disturbing picture is anything but. It is a desperate and empty place inhabited by desperate and empty people.

The story concerns the build up to and aftermath of a state execution. We follow the life of Hank (Billy Bob Thornton), a prejudiced prison officer who is responsible for terminating the life of the condemned man. A potentially tricky but intriguing scenario arises when a tragic coincidence brings him together with Leticia (a sensational Halle Berry), the shattered widow whom the deceased criminal has left behind.

It is puzzling that the title indicates just one monster, as the film presents us with many characters who could arguably be labelled so. This is not only on account of their behaviour towards one another, which could often be described as inhuman interaction, but also because of the manner in which Forster chooses to frame them. In one memorable shot the female face is distorted by mirrors, giving it a warped, mutant-like appearance.

Indeed many scenes are permeated by weird and wonderful camera angles, which, whilst providing an aesthetic interest, often serve only to alienate the spectator. Forster, it seems, is in no rush to tell his story. Slow camera movements and long zoom-ins and zoom-outs characterise the film, or often a static frame will see people enter and exit the action. Racking focus is also employed frequently so that the viewer's gaze can be directed with the minimal amount of movement.

Whilst this is all fairly unexciting stuff, it is perhaps an attempt (and arguably a successful one) to capture the mundanity, boredom and feeling of insignificance that seem to pervade the lives of the film's characters.

Alienating, though, is a word that could not be used to describe the film's execution sequence, which arguably emulates the intensity of the equivalent scene in Lars Von Trier's ‘Dancer In The Dark'. Never, in my mind, has the point of view shot been used so poignantly as when we see the condemned man's final image of people behind a screen attending his demise. When a hood comes down to obscure his, and our, vision, only his terrified breathing provides the soundtrack to an entirely black screen until electricity is pumped through his body. It is a harrowing, disturbing, but breathtaking moment.

This is the high point (or low point, depending on your perspective) of a first act in which an atmosphere of misery successfully prevails. Almost perversely then, it is perhaps the ultimate failure of ‘Monster's Ball' that this atmosphere is not maintained. After an absolute bombardment of bleakness, the film does not quite have the guts to carry it through, and instead opts for a tone of optimism and hope that, frankly, is without any real foundation. The tone shifts with the unaccountable change in the attitude of Hank, who, from a bitter, hatred-fuelled racist suddenly becomes a sensitive humanitarian who will happily engage in a sexual relationship with a black woman. Of course, some reasons are implied, but they do not carry a lot of weight. It is a contrived and convenient transformation that only the foolish and naïve viewer will readily accept.

‘Monster's Ball' is ultimately a film of extreme contradictions. It is engaging yet alienating, daring yet contrived, bleak yet optimistic; a paradox that is perfectly demonstrated in the film's final scene.

As the two star-crossed lovers gaze at the nighttime Georgia sky, the heroic male remarks, ‘I think we're gonna be alright.' Straight out of the Hollywood textbook it seems. For all of this ideal optimism, however, ambiguity remains. We are left with an intriguing and unanswerable question: how does this woman feel that her husband's executioner is now her lover?