Minnie Stardust

Hunky Dory
Director: Marc Evans
Stars: Minnie Driver, Aneurin Barnard and Robert Pugh

I usually despise musicals. I cringe at the sight of teenagers wearing pasted-on smiles, belting out show tunes whilst mid-conversation with stern authority figures. Yet Marc Evans’ Hunky Dory seeks to counter the contrivance of High School Musical and Glee, instead presenting us with a naturalistic drama that explores the lives of a dreamless bunch of kids in pre-Thatcher South Wales. Despite facing their last summer holiday before being destined for mediocrity, free-spirited drama teacher Vivienne May (Minnie Driver) wants her class to put on an end of year production of The Tempest “that William Shakespeare and David Bowie would be proud of” in order to give them some lasting hope of achievement.

The film follows the cast as they seek to produce a “Shakespearean concept rock opera”, despite disapproval from conservative teachers, prejudiced rugby coaches and skinhead relatives. The youngsters’ talents shine through, with the 1976 backdrop meaning ensemble performances of the likes of David Bowie, Nick Drake, ELO and The Beach Boys. There is a strong feel-good vibe to Hunky Dory, which dances between comedic musical and nostalgic drama with some success. Several character arcs map the cast’s progression through the stereotypical hurdles of adolescent strife – but all’s well by opening night, when the class perform relatively unscathed.

However, there is a great failing in Hunky Dory due to its poverty of originality. The setting and story borrow heavily from Richard Linklater’s Dazed and Confused and School of Rock, whilst the students’ individual stories aren’t given time to develop, and so seem to be pulled straight from Skins and Cemetery Junction. Perhaps Marc Evans bit off more than he could chew here. I imagine that Hunky Dory would play out quite well as a TV mini-series, and perhaps the predictable plot and two-dimensional characters may simply be a result of it being confined to 110 minutes. Nonetheless, the film is an easy watch, especially the final rendition of Life On Mars?, which is performed impeccably. Expect some warm chuckles in the hazy Welsh sunshine, but not riotous laughs. Hunky Dory won’t ever have you on the edge of your seat, but its pleasant enough to keep you in it.

6 / 10

Original vs Remake: Willy Wonka/Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory is a film very close to my heart. No matter how many times I watch Wonka, I still feel amazed, excited and heart-warmed by its elegance and ambition. Roald Dahl’s story of Charlie Bucket is of course familiar to everyone who didn’t spend their childhood sat in a corner eating crayons, and the charming children’s book is even more imaginative on the big screen. A superb cast of children and adults, led by the witty and whimsical Gene Wilder, adventure through impeccable set pieces in a musical masterpiece of family entertainment. A chocolate riverboat ride, singing Oompa Loompas, fizzy lifting drinks, and everlasting gobstoppers are but a few highlights in an exceptionally shot film that leaves children in awe and adults in stitches.

Then in 2005 came Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, a film that upon leaving made me want to go to court and point out on a doll of Gene Wilder exactly where Tim Burton ruined my childhood. All the subtlety and irony of the previous film was lost. The singing Willy Wonka with a twinkle in his eye became a cold and xenophobic Johnny Depp, whose every line was delivered like Michael Jackson giving a guided tour of Neverland. The Oompa Loompas and beautifully designed sets were replaced with a sickly smorgasbord of CGI. The characters ceased to be quirky and annoying eccentrics, and instead are just a detestable bunch of cretins. Perhaps worst of all, Christopher Lee is roped in to play Wonka’s dad in a needless back-story, probably because someone dared to tell Burton that he couldn’t have Saruman playing Grandpa Joe. Pretty much every aspect of the remake degraded the original. Charlie is a bad egg that needs to be dropped into the incinerator and forgotten about.

Preview: Django Unchained

Scheduled for release at the end of 2012 is the latest film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino. Following on from stylized revenge thriller Kill Bill, and slow-burning, dialogue-rich Inglorious Basterds; Django Unchained promises to be Tarantino’s most ambitious and enthusiastic homage to exploitation cinema yet. The “Django” in the title alludes to eponymous hero of Sergio Corbucci’s 1966 spaghetti western, which was deemed so violent that it was banned by the BBFC until 1993. Corbucci’s Django was, however, a huge cult hit and spawned over thirty unofficial sequels and countless reboots and pastiches. It is perhaps unsurprising, therefore, that avid cinephile Tarantino has decided to give the story a big-budget revamp into the mainstream.

In Corbucci’s Django, the protagonist is a mysterious coffin-dragging vigilante, who marauds the Old West seeking revenge. Django Unchained, however, tells the story of a freed slave, Django (played by Jamie Foxx), who treks across the American deep south with a German bounty hunter, Dr. Schultz (Christoph Waltz), in order to emancipate his wife from the clutches of a sadistic plantation owner Calvin Candie (Leonardo DiCaprio). The supporting cast is also set to feature performances from the likes of Samuel L. Jackson, Jonah Hill, Kerry Washington, Zoe Bell, RZA, M.C. Gainey, and the original Django - Franco Nero.

So what can we expect from the latest Django? Will the big budget and all-star cast lead to a huge hit or a mega flop? Given Tarantino’s previous efforts, and considering his passion for grindhouse movies and aesthetic violence, Django Unchained promises to be an intense Southern drama filled with cool, pithy dialogue, striking set-pieces and graphic, stylised action. Whether you’re Tarantino’s biggest fan or harshest critic, one thing’s for sure - Django Unchained will certainly be a major talking point over Christmas dinner.