Film Round-Up #30

The emergence of Keira Knightley in the early 2000's was quite a big thing here in the UK as I recall. Although it wasn't her first film, it was Bend It Like Beckham that did it I think. I never saw that one though, it was the original Pirates of the Caribbean a year later when I first gazed upon her loveliness, but I haven't seen too many other films of hers if I'm honest. Sounds like a great excuse for a 'round-up' here at Red Parsley so let's get moving! Here are the first films I went for...

The Hole (2001)

I originally watched this because of Thora Birch - I hadn't even heard of Knightley at the time. It was one of her first films though, and she was only 15 when it was filmed. Appropriately, she plays a hottie schoolgirl - one of four students who apparently decide it would be a good idea to spend the weekend in an abandoned nuclear fallout shelter only to... !!SHOCK!!... get trapped! After some time spent partying and shagging Miss Knightley, they soon start getting increasingly scared over their predicament and inevitably turn on each other. Miss Knightley and Miss Birch are joined here by Daniel Brocklebank and Desmond Harrington, and all four do a decent enough job, although despite flashing her tits early on, Knightley probably gets the least focus of the four of them. Indeed, it's Birch's film really, her character is a bit of a nutcase, but she is very good here. The film itself is pretty good too - suspenseful, nicely claustrophobic, and with a couple of not-entirely-unexpected-but-effective-anyway twists near the end. A good one-time watch... 7/10

King Arthur (2004)

I didn't manage to catch this one on its release for one reason or another so I was watching it for the first time here, mainly for Knightley purposes of course. Surprisingly, however, it takes nearly an hour before she makes an appearance. She plays Guinevere, a prisoner encountered and set free by Arthur (Clive Owen) and his knights in a new, supposedly more historically-accurate take on the legend. Here, Arthur is a half-British Roman commander who is sent on 'one final mission' to rescue a Roman family just as the Saxons are invading, while Guinevere is one of the native Britons residing north of Hadrian's Wall. I'm not sure she's really the best choice for a role like this, mainly because of her posh accent, but she looks great as always and the film isn't bad either. Owen's Arthur makes a fairly convincing and charismatic leader while Ioan Gruffudd also stands out as Lancelot. The battle scenes are a little inconsistent and not very gory/violent, but the climactic one is good and I enjoyed this one more than I thought I would. Nice ending too... 7/10

The Jacket (2005)

I wasn't sure I was going to be too keen on this one much from the synopsis which sounded a bit silly for what seemed like a serious drama. Adrien Brody stars as Jack Starks, a Gulf War veteran who suffers from bouts of amnesia due to a head wound he suffered on duty. While out walking he meets a young girl, Jackie, stuck with her alcoholic mother, before hitching a ride with a guy who later murders a cop. Due to his amnesia, he can't remember if he was involved or not, so he is sent to a psychiatric hospital where the staff perform sensory-deprivation experiments on him by placing him in a morgue drawer wearing a straightjacket. While here he is somehow transported 15 years into the future where he tracks down the now-adult Jackie (Knightley) who, after a bit of persuasion, helps him work out what the frickin' frack is going on. It's a strange film and rather slow too, but patient viewers will at least see some great performances by Brody and Knightley, and the premise is at least a little intriguing too. It's certainly not lacking in originality! ... 6/10

A Dangerous Method (2011)

When looking into which Knightley films to watch, I chose this one based pretty much solely on David Cronenberg being the director, but I (intentionally) had no idea what it was about. Happily, it proved to be intriguing from the start which is where we meet the lady herself as Sabina Spielrein, a new patient of Swiss psychoanalyst, Carl Jung (Michael Fassbender). Although suffering from hysteria, Sabrina benefits from Jung's pioneering treatments. He also recognises her intelligence and the two begin working together as well as engaging in less professional activities, including exploring Sabrina's fondness for being spanked. Throughout this time, Jung is also corresponding with Sigmund Freud (Viggo Mortensen). It may not have been what I was expecting, but A Dangerous Method is an interesting look at the subject of analytical psychology as well as an informative look at three important historical figures, all portrayed by excellent performances from the three leads including Ms. Knightley herself whose work must surely be among her best... 7/10

Laggies (2014)

I'd never heard of this one prior to this feature but the synopsis was one I could identify with. Knightley plays Megan, a directionless 28-year old living in Seattle who doesn't know what she wants from life. Things come to a head when her long-term boyfriend proposes. She panics, runs away, and meets Annika (Chloe Moretz), a teenage girl whom she quickly befriends. In order to avoid her boyfriend, she pretends to be going to a seminar but instead stays with Annika where she meets her (single) father Craig (Sam Rockwell). This, as if you hadn't guessed, technically makes this a rom-com, but it's more about Megan realising what she wants from life and who she wants around her. I don't know if it's because of this or if it's because of the likeable characters - Knightley, Rockwell, Moretz and Kaitlyn Dever (as Annika's best friend) - but I liked this one more than I probably should have... 8/10