Hidden City

Hidden city is a film that I really wanted to like after reading the plot synopsis on the back of the Blu-ray cover. In many ways, I did like it; the plot was somewhat unique and interesting; the hidden locations in London really did spark a sense of wonder and imagination; and the main character is a reasonable educated individual which keeps the movie grounded. Some of the scenes were a little eerie in fact. I found the journey itself to be quaint, but a tad unrealistic in terms of character interactions. These quirks can be be more appreciated in older films like this one.

Sadly, the lead actress struggles to deliver her lines organically, it feels as though she's reading a script at times- memorised lines. That pulls the viewer out of the story. There is some general overacting with some of the side characters as well, but given the right atmosphere, this can be forgiven and I feel that Hidden City certainly has that atmosphere.

However, as is typical of an edgy 80s movie, there are unnecessary scenes and elements added which only take away from the storyline. Prolonged snogging scenes up close, lengthy moaning in the background of an office, some brief rear nudity on the TV screens in a party, and frontal nudity in one scene - all took this from a family appropriate mind-opening movie inspiring curiosity, to an awkward watch meant for a specific type of audience that I certainly am not. Were not for these moments, the film actually would have been one of my favourite films, despite all its other flaws.

The BFI Blu-ray looked good, albeit quite grainy, but as usual that only adds to the experience of this 80s film. BFI made the brilliant decision of adding old archive footage of London as special features to this disc, which I found thoroughly fascinating. It was as if I were experiencing a time capsule and it really matched the essence of the film. I can't think of other types of films that would be as appropriate to include the special content on than this one - which is all about exploration of undiscovered secret archives of London. Having these extras makes you feel like you are part of the preservation of London's history.

I only watched this picture because of my current obsession with Charles Dance. It's a very strange film, rather too artsy and noir for my taste, but in general a pretty good picture.

A few items: far too much is made of the "hidden city" component. Any older city has subterranean tunnels and chambers. Disused subways, dry drains, utility shafts and connectors, power cable channels, catacombs, and sewage pipes form a veritable honeycomb beneath a city's surface. Not secret so much as not relevant to the daily life of ordinary people. That these areas might be useful for file storage is sensible and efficient.

The more intriguing mystery for me was why the writers writers (who otherwise did an excellent job) failed to give us explanations to these questions:

Why would an intelligent, sophisticated, educated man disregard several days' worth of scheduled meetings in order to assist a complete stranger in an ill-defined quest for information of questionable value?

Why, having learned the mysterious government secret, do the pair do absolutely nothing with what they've learned? It's implausible that anybody would go to so much trouble merely to satisfy idle curiosity.

And finally, why do the pair decide to continue rummaging for secrets?

On the plus side, "Hidden City" does include a very excellent performance by Charles Dance. I think that one of the more difficult challenges for an actor is speaking lines that convey information the audience needs but would never be uttered in real-life conversation. The film contains an astonishingly large number of such lines, and Dance delivered them so naturally that only when I'd finished watching did I realize. In fact, I can't think of a better example of that sort of acting. Well done, Charles Dance!

I am another one who can't understand the good reviews. Maybe you have to be British to like it. I'm not so, I don't. Why did Charles Dance's character keep following the girl around? Tell her to give you the money she promised for ripping your jacket then tell her to go away. Movie over.

Instead we get, I'll take you here but I'm not going in. Next scene, he's in. Okay I'll take you there but I'm not going in. Next scene, he's in. He shows no interest in what she's looking for. Why keep following her? Does he really need the money to fix his jacket? She did steal his book too. Call the cops, have her arrested, end of bad movie.

I read all the other comments - are we watching the same movie?? Apparently this director went on to bigger and better things, but this movie was not good, not even for a starter. The premise was okay, but the execution was not. The female lead needed to stop yelling, at the least. She was never a sympathetic character; I thought she was annoying. The dialog was shallow, and did not really develop the characters. Lots of walking, no talking. It was a 15 minute plot in movie form. Charles Dance seems to have spent most of his earlier film career in fuzzy, badly produced movies. I wonder what could have happened had he spent more time in Hollywood, or if Merchant and Ivory had found places for him in their films.... When he has the right material, he is good. I waited for this movie to show more intrigue - all I got was waiting for scenes where there was some real action and some real acting (and scenes that did not feature the female lead). Oh, well.

One of the better British films of the last 20 years and criminally neglected - it doesn't appear to be currently available on video let alone DVD.

Intriguing (and somewhat unsettling) plot. Sensible portrayals - no overacting, Unusual settings - a London rarely seen either in life or on screen. Well constructed - the atmosphere builds beautifully.

All in all, it puts so much of recent British cinema to shame.

And we go and bury it.