Posts Tagged ‘Bill Nighy’

‘Hello, Wembley!’

As the great British actor Bill Nighy turned 60 on 12 December 2009, Cillian Donnelly takes the opportunity to examine this sadly little-seen gem, in which Nighy turns in a career-defining performance as Ray Simms, the conceited yet vulnerable former lead singer of 1970s hard rockers, Strange Fruit.

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Raking up trouble

This is one I re-watched by accident the other night (and by ‘accident’ I mean that I was too lazy even to change the channel so saw it through to the end). A horrifying movie – in the truest sense of the word – it’s nonetheless a compelling and enlightening view.

With a cast that includes Ralph Fiennes, Rachel Weisz, Pete Postlethwaite and Bill Nighy to name but four, this could have so easily been a complete luvvie-fest, devoid of any sentiment or narrative. Not so, luckily. Bolstered by some very accomplished direction by Brazilian Fernando Meirelles (Cidada de Deus (City of God) (2002)), and written for the screen in collaboration with the original author (John le Carré), this is a fully rounded story with a lot to say, and it’s very well played by all concerned.

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The good German?

Ever since The Usual Suspects (1994), director Bryan Singer and writer Christopher McQuarrie have seemed more than capable of delivering the good stuff, when they’re together.

Further to that point, along with co-writer Nathan Alexander, who is also on board for Valkyrie (2008), and whose first film this is, they also seem to be able to get the best out of one Tom Cruise. Picturenose’s other half, Colin, has previously made his thoughts quite clear concerning ‘the stunted one’ (his words, not mine) – I, on the other hand, have always had a good deal of time for the Cruiser and his acting range, even if, as I must concede, he really shouldn’t espouse cults masquerading as life choices, or make a complete tit of himself on Oprah.

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Aaaarrrgh!

For this reviewer’s pieces-of-eight, while it is perhaps pointless to nitpick at one of the greatest trilogies in summer blockbuster history, director Gore Verbinski’s second stab, Dead Man’s Chest (2006), is now officially the Pirates of the Carribean franchise’s finest hour. When a sequel was this good (remember the treats we had? An incredible sword-fight on a loose rotating water wheel, Elizabeth Swann (Keira Knightley) doing the nasty on poor old Captain Jack Sparrow (he wishes), Bill Nighy as ‘ol Squid Face Davy Jones and his pet Kraken, and, of course, the surprise comeback of Captain Barbossa, the magisterial Geoffrey Rush), it was always going to be very difficult to top.

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Dench does demented

Guess what? Another film I enjoyed. The difference this time being that it was one of a collection that was recently purchased by my good lady. Our taste in films differs quite a bit from time to time and having seen the cover of the DVD and the dreaded words ‘Starring Dame Judi Dench and Cate Blanchett’ I thought I’d be in for an evening of unbridled chick-flickery.

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