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Reviews
Taboo (2017)
"I have a use for this series"
Finally I came to see this Gothic gem from the BBC and I am not disappointed - quite the contrary is the case.
In 'Taboo' the set up of the world and the creation of a very dark and at the same time tender atmosphere as well as the nicely arranged spectrum of taboo-motifs (like sexual transgression, the grotesque and strange, overwhelming violence etc.) kept me from being bothered by the fact that I didn't feel one jot more sympathy for its main character than for its antagonists. James K. Delaney is an intriguing mysterious character attracting us in a depraved way. But he is also an individual of extreme moral reprehensibility we eventually cannot go along with.
The series makes very good use of Gothic- and Dark Romanticism writers' style to build up the gloomy atmosphere of a depressed 1814 England still anguished by the loss of the great colony. It is no coincidence when Delaney claims at some point in the series:"The ravens told me". We find lots of Poe here either in theme or characters. Madness wanders through the world of 'Taboo' and at least at the dip of the hem this madness is always caused by the East India Company, the Crown or Delaney. Curiously all the characters except Delaney himself are appearing so vulnerably and fragile that their indulgence (to be helpless and lost in this made up society) arises a counter-part to the unforgiveness of the room they live in.
'Taboo' also declares the downfall of the classic adventure genre. There is no space for nostalgic explorers or discoverers in the plot lines, Delaney is a broken man as he returns from Africa, even if he is not willing to admit this. It's rather a farewell to the exotic, the story takes place after the alleged adventure and mainly stays at the well-known. Interestingly the series manages it to combine some accounts on slavery shifting the story to an international level (not many historic series/ movies do this, they mostly remain in the domestic frame).
Further the actors do a very nice job. Particularly Tom Hardy, Jonathan Price and the reoccurring Mark Gatiss play exceptionally good. However I have to say that there was no huge character development, which I wished to see. The characters are not uni-dimensional, but they do not alter in their facets. The series tries to offset this flaw with new secrets and confessions in every episode pretending these to be a change, whilst it is actually only about the introduction of new information. A very common writing technique, I think.
Overall I can highly recommend 'Taboo', especially for fans of Gothic, Grotesque and the 19th century England.
In a Lonely Place (1950)
"I was born when she kissed me. I died when she left me. I lived a few weeks while she loved me."
The review contains some very light spoilers:
After watching this Bogey movie I am in various ways shocked! First of all I am shocked I never saw this picture before.
Second I am shocked of Bogart's performance. This was tremendous! On the one hand so dark, deeply self-destructive and desperate, the mind of a writer oscillating between the fascination of the violence, which he puts in his screenplays and the film noir generic heavy, but belated regret - on the other hand so gentle swaying and charming, causing an extraordinary desire in us to be accepted by our environment, to be accepted by him. Bogart's face does the rest. After all he remains in the people's head as one of the untouchables, whom about nowadays only few living human beings can tell us.
Third I am shocked of the dramaturgical brilliance of this film. The vehicle to generate tension through leaving the audience in the unknown of whether their favorite character is a murderer or not finds perfection here. Nicholas Ray proceeds with us to a roller coaster drive of hope, anger, fear and satisfaction.
Even if this is a pre-Strassberg movie all the actors do a very good job. Jeez they even move pretty much around and interact with the other cast members instead of staying at one designated spot. Especially Bogart and Gloria Grahame perform together very intensively. Laurel Gray seems to be so afraid of Dixie Steele at some point I was concerned about, if all this wasn't just acting on the set. At last we also can find some obvious, but really cool meta-thoughts on theater and the Hollywood star- and production system at that time. Or you just smile at the scene, where Nicholas Ray tries to convince the audience through the actors and explicit dialogue that this particular one is the perfect love scene.
Well hats off for "In a Lonely Place"! Watch it, you won't regret it.