Happy New Year, Colin Burstead (2018)
Dir. Ben Wheatley / Dur. 95 min
In A Nutshell:- A family gathering for New Year’s doesn’t go to plan with the arrival of the estranged brother.
The Good:- It’s a relatively low-budget affair and a character-based piece with a strong cast including amongst others Ben Wheatley regular Neil Maskell, Doon Mackichan, Bill Paterson and Charles Dance (playing brilliantly against type as cross-dressing Uncle Bertie). As expected, the arrival of an estranged family member does not lead to events going to plan but the celebration has already begun to veer off the rails even before his arrival. It’s certainly not a cheery piece but there are strong moments of humour amongst the misery. Neil Maskell is probably the stand out as the titular Colin but it’s definitely an ensemble piece and they all, for the most part, get their moments. The camerawork and editing style add to the escalating tension, building to number of intercut sequences at the end as events spiral towards the climactic confrontation. One of the things that Wheatley always manages to achieve stylistically is to build a sense of menace and tension and this is no exception.
The Bad:- With the exception of Asim Chaudry, the family friends feel a little bit underserved by the film. Additionally, I don’t know if this was just me not paying attention but there suddenly seemed to be some extra guests at the party in some of the closing scenes and I was slightly distracted by the fact that I didn’t know who these people were and where they’d come from.
The Verdict:- I’ve enjoyed Ben Wheatley’s previous films even if sometimes they haven’t fully worked for me; there’s always been something in there that has kept my interest and made me come back for more. I think that, for me, this is his most satisfying film overall (even if I did leave feeling like certain characters had been treated unjustly!)
Festival Tidbit:- According to Ben Wheatley in the Q&A afterwards, the original title was Colin, You Anus but was changed when it was pointed out that no one would go the box office ands ask for tickets for “the Anus film”. Also, he's currently working on a follow up series featuring the same cast - will keep an eye out for that.
Next Time:- A Swedish fantasy film about an unusual looking woman who meets someone with a similar look...
2 comments:
Sounds interesting. I really enjoyed Sightseers and High-Rise, and kind of enjoyed the absolutely mental A Field In England, so will have to give this one a go at some point...
I really enjoyed it - I've often found something slightly lacking in some of his other films (notably Kill List and High Rise) but this one felt pretty fully formed. Haven't watched A Field In England yet (or Free Fire), that's next on the list...
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