Best in Show: Toni Collette
One for the future: Daniel Craig (Gets my vote as 007)
Stand-out scene: Cake explosion
Brainer or no-brainer: No brainer
Stands up to one viewing or repeated?: One
DVD commentary any good?: n/a
a
TV
After seeing Little Miss Sunshine I was in the mood to observe more excellent acting from
Toni Collette and remembered that i'd recorded this a couple of weeks ago. Use of the word oddball would be an understatement in describing this movie as it's the bastard cousin to Guest House Paradiso, only a lot, lot better than that movie. The viewer who sticks with it is rewarded however, the largely British cast making the best of the avant garde material. With the filmmakers clearly fans of the work of Jean-Pierre Jeunet & Marc Caro, this is a movie that evokes the spirit of Delicatessen, the Hotel Splendide becoming a character in itself. There's also elements similar to The Road to Wellville, Hotel Splendide also coming out on top in that Deathmatch pairing (of course, it loses in the battle with the savourable Delicatessen. The titular establishment is situated on a remote island off of the British mainland (exactly where is not disclosed) only accessible by a once-a-month ferry. The latest ferry brings Kath (Collette), former sous chef and paramour of chef Ronald (Daniel Craig) who has received a note informing her that the Blanche hotel's domineering matriarch (Ronald's mum) has died and that she is invited to return to the hotel. Ronald's brother Dezmond (Stephen Tompkinson) has taken on his mother's mantle in more ways than one (shades of Psycho arise). The rest of the Blanche brood consists of Dad Morton (Peter Vaughan) and sister Cora (the greatly missed Katrin Cartlidge), each family member harbouring a secret that is revealed through the course of the movie. With additional support from Helen McCrory and Hugh O'Conor this is a movie with a strong cast and while it's no true groundbreaker it has sufficient new ideas to warrant a watch.
October 1, 2006
