Edinburgh University Film Society

Fase 7 (Phase 7) (EIFF)

In the set-up to Fase 7 the immediate comparison that you rush with is that this is going to be [rec], but as it turns out that it’s not like [rec] at all in the end, and I have to wonder if that’s a shame.

When an apartment block is put into quarantine due to a virus alert, Coco and his 7-month pregnant wife Pipi just accept the time and waste the days away not being all too alarmed with the quarantine. That is, until the neighbours change their tune as they suspect that one of elder tenants has the virus and challenge him to move out of his flat which then clicks everything into motion. As Coco tries to keep Pipi safe and oblivious he strikes a bond with his peculiar ‘paranoid’ next-door neighbour Horatio as they try to keep the building safe for themselves.

In a nutshell, Fase 7 is a decent film but in comparison to other films of its nature doesn’t seem half as exciting or intriguing, the aspect of looking at how a virus outbreak affect the social terms as people turning on each other is a good one to go for but then the filmmaker ends up not sticking entirely truthful to this and abandons the feel that was being set-up. In addition to this it wouldn’t have hurt if the film finished about ten minutes before it actually does, after the main story is finished there is only so much you can say about a subplot before you lose interest.  Despite Fase 7 still not having anything new to say it still remains easily watchable and does have moments that make it quite interesting.

The Guard (EIFF)

Not to waste your time as you can read a succinct plot summary of The Guard here let me get right to the point as I confirm: The Guard is great. Consistently funny, enjoyable and perfectly put together, no part of the film seems like wasted time on the viewer’s part.

Brendan Gleeson hits the nail on the head playing an unconventional (but not really a ‘dirty’) sergeant who is also found to be extremely likeable for some reason, there is kindness about him even when he does take the liberty to make fun of the people around him, like for instance Don Cheadle’s straight-laced FBI man.

Somewhat of a surprise in an Irish film (and believe me, you will know it is Irish), Cheadle is excellently placed in the small Irish town bringing much amusement to Sgt Boyle and even the locals whom, due to popular TV culture all assume he does behavioural science only to be disappointed by his actual intentions. Cheadle plays Agent Wendell Everett with an awareness that he his knowingly out of his depth in a foreign land which makes him open enough to team up with Sgt Boyle after an initial awkward encounter between the two.

An unexpected bright point is the initial comic relief that is provided from Garda Aidan McBride who is played by Rory Keenan, sometimes doing the set-up for the comedy parts of a film always go overboard but Keenan keeps it on the understated side and executes his role just as he needs too. The other supporting performances in the film are also on par, the only other one of particular note-worthiness is Mark Strong who is in cahoots with the drug dealers our duo are after, despite playing the same sort of character so many times he does it so well – why would you get anyone else to play one of the bad guys when you can get Mark Strong?

The tone is in the same vein as McDonagh’s previous film ‘In Bruges’, darkly witty with moments of insight into the characters show you why you should care about them (Boyle’s relationship with his mother is very sweet) allow you to see that McDonagh understands very well how to write people that might not sound like likely heroes into people we really want to see save the day.

The Guard almost gives off this Western vibe, Sgt Boyle is practically the sheriff of the town (he never proclaims it like Philip Glenister à la Life on Mars but you can just tell he probably watches that show) who thinks he has to take care of a bad situation by himself until an unlikely friendship is struck. You can also hear it in the soundtrack, and it goes all out for it in that final showdown scene.

Maybe Brendan Gleeson should just one day make a film where he is a cowboy, an Irish cowboy obviously. Because if we take this film as a trial, I think he’d be great!