If I Were a Rich Man: Review of Brad's Status

Brad's Status

Director: Mike White

By Alex Watson

Ever wondered if your life was worth a damn? Mike White's movie Brad's Status is a picture for anyone going through a crisis. We frequently compare our achievements against those who have greater success. We always want more and curse ourselves for not trying hard enough. White throughout makes us wonder where doing this actually gets us anywhere?

Brad Sloan (Ben Stiller) is a 40-something man who runs a non-profit organization. Even though he has a happy life with life Melanie (Jenna Fischer), he feels like a failure compared to rich buddies Craig Fisher (Michael Sheen), Billy Wearsitter (Jermaine Clement) and Jason Hatfield (Luke Wilson). A trip to Boston for his son Troy's (Austin Abrams) college interviews sparks a voyage of self-realisation.

From the opening of Brad's Status, it becomes clear that the man is at crisis point. His one employee has quit on him because he wanted to make money rather than beg people for it. Very much a man of first world problems, Brad's jealousy as he looks through his friend's social media updates is poorly masked. He questions everything in his life, even wondering if his supportive wife should have pushed him harder? The question of selling out is a big point in White's movie- his friends have all become rich through various ventures while Brad who is trying to help people feels like he is going backwards. When trying to go through a VIP line at the airport he is turned away because he 'only has silver membership'.

Constantly Brad mulls over how things could have been. His jaded view doesn't always make him a pleasant on-screen character. In one moment, he urges a young college student to sell out on her 'for the people' views because it is how people make money. Within seconds he is fighting for control and digging himself a deeper hole. Refreshingly the girl he talks to calls him out on his self-pity and entitlement. White's direction stunts the film's growth in places and he feels the need to map out precisely what Brad feels constantly. Its apparent to the audience due to the frequent voice-over where he bemoans "This is not the life I imagined!" His obliviousness to his superficial friends is at times hilarious because Brad has a life many single men would long for.

Brad's Status is a movie that is well aware of itself and White refuses to let him picture wallow in sadness. We all know there will be a lightbulb moment which helps Brad clue into his worth. His relationship with his son feels slightly underexplored even though his happiness and future are central to Brad. In one scene he panics to his son over his underdog status getting into Harvard and worries about him being a white kid without a sob story. There is also a good intelligence to the story and thankfully it never once urges us to feel any pity for our hero. White might not be the skilled director he wants to be yet, but his writing is always sharp and inviting.

Ben Stiller is on familiar ground in this piece, because of this is able to carve a very natural performance. His Brad is a man wrestling with himself and Stiller is able to make him believable without seeming self-loathing. Michael Sheen is what amounts to a brief cameo is wonderfully arrogant as his frenemy Craig. That one friend who constantly pats himself on the back while oblivious to the needs of other is all too familiar. Sheen does a great job of channelling a man clueless to his own unlikeability. Credit to Austin Abrams too, in an underused role as Brad's son, he has some fine underplayed moments alongside Stiller.

Brad's Status is not the indie darling it so desperately wants to be, but it will help anyone struggling to see the upside of life.

A Woman Under The Influence: Review of Far From The Madding Crowd

Far From The Madding Crowd

Director: Thomas Vinterberg

By Alex Watson

Danish director Thomas Vinterberg makes a good stab at adapting Thomas Hardy's, Far From The Madding Crowd. For the most part it is a heart wrenching and involving movie and in some ways even surpasses John Schlesinger's 1967 version. After his emotionally churning film, The Hunt, Vinterberg has been the ideal man to bring a new version to screen. Effortlessly he brings to light the clash between classes and the pain that the smallest actions can cause.

Bathsheba Everdeen (Carey Mulligan) is a headstrong young woman who has recently inherited her uncle's estate. Diving headfirst into the farming world, she soon finds herself tempted by three different suitors. Quiet farmer Gabriel Oak (Matthias Schoenaerts), rich loner William Boldwood (Michael Sheen) and dashing soldier Sergeant Frank Troy (Tom Sturridge). But although she yearns not become a man's wife, Bathsheba is seduced by passion and tradition. Both of which will eventually have a dangerous outcome of all.

The most effective piece of Vinterberg's Far From The Madding Crowd, is how he firmly portrays how Bathsheba ably dances into a man's world, but comes unstuck as a result. The three men in her life are the definition of class difference. She falls hard and fast for handsome but dangerous Troy and secretly scolds herself for it. A valentine's prank on the lonely and repressed Boldwood sets off a risky spark and she feels genuine remorse for hurting a good man. Even her first meeting with Sheppard Gabriel is one that will set off a complex relationship of love and dependence. Bathsheba renounces marriage claiming "I'd hate to be someone's property" but although independent she also feels the need for a male presence.

Inner conflicts between the characters are also excellently conveyed. Although Gabriel is the quiet yet wise soul who lovingly observes Bathsheba from a distance, he is perhaps the only one who can see through the other suitors facades. Troy while impressive on the outside is also a self-destructive and lovesick man who still pines for lost love Fanny Robbin (Juno Temple). But it is easy to see how Bathsheba is instantly illured by his sex appeal and yes the famous sword wielding scene is equally tantalizing as before. Boldwood while rich and openly speculated about is also a man secretly drowning in his own loneliness and insecurity. Courting Bathsheba seems to be his view of way of solving life's problems.

But even in the year since its first publication, Bathsheba is still a heroine who is not only likeable but also is willing learn from her transgressions. While a capable farmer and businesswoman, she is also naive to the ways of love and relationships. She also gives the movie a strength to move forward convincingly and to some movie goers, this might give Vinterberg's movie a light feeling, but not once does it weight it down.

Carey Mulligan proves to be an excellent Bathsheba and demonstrates a winning charm. Her real strength is that she gives this character an intelligence that marks out from Julie Christie's original iconic turn. As the world weary Gabriel, Matthias Schoenaerts also excels and rings in a turn that both heartfelt and firmly captures the silent longing that surrounds Hardy's novel. Tom Sturridge does give Troy a slightly more humane feel, but he still falls short of the cold hearted and sexual charged turn that Terence Stamp made so memorable! Michael Sheen feels underused as Boldwood, but shows enough to give a good impression of a man on the verge with himself.

As adaptations go, Vinterberg's version of Far From The Madding Crowd is one that has surprised everyone. It might not feel as iconic as the John Schlesinger version, but it does rise about it emotionally and delivers a stirring and engaging tale. Will also come in handy as Farming 101 guide for those wanted to relocate to Dorset any time soon!