review by Lee Howard Pro
Carnage 2011
Watched Feb 05, 2012
Lee Howard’s review:
Based on a stage-play, Polanski doesn't shoot CARNAGE in any radical way. Instead you get four great 'big' performances from a fine cast in this brisk no fuss comedy.
The Count's Verdict: If you find plays on film inherently uncinematic then give this a pass. However, if like me, you still think a strong performance by a talented actor is engaging regardless of the medium then you'll find plenty to entertain in this exaggerated comedic farce.
Always up for a new Polanski. His last film, The Ghost, is one of my favourite thrillers of the past few years. Yet to see Death and the Maiden, his other stagey adaptation . . .
I'll always watch a Polanski film due to the brilliance of CHINATOWN & ROSEMARY'S BABY. Wasn't too keen on THE GHOST to be honest and I've not seen his DEATH AND THE MAIDEN.
Yeah The Ghost seemed to come and go quite quickly, I think it's bloody fantastic - and one of the best final shots in recent memory. I love his early stuff, Cul-de-Sac is another great one I fnally got round to last year. I'm putting in my order for a Movie Matters Polanski special!
We did cover THE GHOST on a previous episode of the Movie Matters podcast and it even featured in Michael's Top 10 of 2010. Thus I'm sure my esteemed co-host could be persuaded to do a Polanski special at some point. What 3 films would you suggest?
oooh, well my favouites are the three films unofficial insanity trilogy, with individuals being driven to madness within an apartment setting: Repulsion, The Tenant, and Rosemary's Baby. All solid gold classics.
I'd be more than happy to do a Movie Matters special on Polanski covering REPULSION, THE TENANT and ROSEMARY'S BABY. I'll add it to the list of potential shows. Would you be interested in joining us as a guest host when we do it?
Oh blimey, erm, ok! I'd happily babble on about Polanski, though my podcast guest hosting CV is pretty slim . . .
Good man. It probably won't happen anytime soon as we have quite a few planned eps to record first. However, I'll give you plenty of notice when we have a timescale in mind. Cheers!