BLACK WIDOW : Wednesday 28th July 2021.

I finally got around to watching the M Rated 'BLACK WIDOW' this week - the long awaited superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name. This is the 24th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the first film in Phase Four of the MCU. Its release was delayed three times from an original May 2020 date due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. 'Black Widow' saw its World Premier screenings on 29th June this year at various red carpet fan events in London, Los Angeles, Melbourne, and New York City and was released in Australia and the US on 8th and 9th July respectively, having garnered generally favourable Critical acclaim off the back of a US$200M production budget. This film is Directed by the Australian multiple award winning and nominated writer and film maker Cate Shortland whose three prior feature film credits are 'Somersault' in 2004 with Abbie Cornish and Sam Worthington, 'Lore' in 2012 with Saskia Rosendahl and 'Berlin Syndrome' in 2017 with Teresa Palmer. The film has so far grossed US$320M and is also available to stream on Disney+ with Premier Access.

The film opens up in 1995 in Ohio where two young sisters, Natasha (Ever Anderson) and Yelena (Violet McGraw) are playing in their back yard. Their mother Melina (Rachel Weisz) calls them in for dinner. Their father Alexei (David Harbour) joins them saying to his daughters that the adventure he had always promised them is happening tonight and that they need to leave immediately. They bundle a handful of their belongings into the family car and drive off into the night. They turn down a dirt road and into a field, where under a concealed canopy is a light aeroplane. The two girls jump in, as does Melina, leaving Alexei to fend off a convoy of advancing patrol cars all guns blazing. Melina sustains a gun shot wound leaving Natasha to take the controls. With Alexei hanging onto the wing shooting at the patrol cars Natasha guides the small aircraft into flight leaving the carnage below. They land in Cuba and are greeted by General Dreykov (Ray Winstone) who has Natasha Romanoff and Yelena Belova drugged and carted off for training and indoctrination to the Red Room. It turns out that Alexei Shostakov and Melina Vostokoff are Russian undercover agents who posed as a model family in Ohio with two surrogate daughters for three years before making off with S.H.I.E.L.D intel which they passed onto Dreykov (a nod to James Bond here), who also runs the Black Widow programme. Dreykov has Alexei imprisoned for life, while Melina becomes a top tier scientist within the Red Room.

We then fast forward twenty-one years and Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson) is on the run for violating the Sokovia Accords after she had defected to S.H.I.E.L.D and following the bombing of Dreykov's office in Budapest seemingly killing him and his young daughter Antonia. The US Secretary of State Thaddeus Ross (William Hurt) is hot on her heels but she successfully evades him and escapes to a safe house located in remote Norway that has been provided to her by a close friend and former S.H.I.E.L.D ally Rick Mason (O-T Fagbenie). In the meantime in Morocco, Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh) kills a Black Widow but comes in contact with a synthetic red gas that neutralises the Red Room's chemical mind-control agent. Belova sends the small case of antidote vials to Romanoff, hoping she will send the Avengers to free the other Widows. Romanoff unknowingly drives off with the vials to get fuel for her generator when her car is bombed and she is attacked by Taskmaster (Olga Kurylenko) who is after the case of vials and not her. 

Romanoff manages to escape Taskmaster by jumping off a bridge into a river and when she surfaces with the clutch of vials she notes from a childhood photograph contained therein that they were sent by Belova. The pair reunite in Budapest and after some intense close quarter hand to hand combat they call a truce (a nod to Jason Bourne here) and Romanoff learns from Belova that Dreykov is still alive and the Red Room is still very much active. They are then set upon by a group of Black Widows and Taskmaster from which they successfully escape and then meet up with Rick Mason again who supplies them with a beat up old Russian helicopter. 

Flying their helicopter into what looks like a Siberian prison camp located at the base of a snow covered mountain range Romanoff and Belova break Shostakov out of prison, in a high stakes extraction that ultimately sees the prison complex flattened in a cascading avalanche of snow and ice. They expect him to tell them the whereabouts of Dreykov and he tells them to speak with Vostokoff, who now lives on a farm outside Saint Petersburg raising pigs. There she developed the chemical mind control process used on the Widows, that she perfected on her now very obedient pigs. 

There, Belova reveals that while they were not a real family, she believed they were so, given that she was only six years of age when the family returned to Russia. Afterward, Vostokoff admits to Romanoff that she sent their location to Dreykov and within thirty minutes or so his agents arrive and take them to the Red Room, a floating facility located above the cloud line, and therefore above radar detection capabilities.

Vostokoff and Romanoff use face mask technology to swap places before being captured (a nod to 'Mission : Impossible' here),  so giving Vostokoff the chance to free Shostakov and Belova from their captivity. Meanwhile, Romanoff confronts Dreykov, who sees through her disguise. Dreykov reveals to Romanoff that Taskmaster is in fact his daughter Antonia, who suffered damage severe enough through the bomb explosion when she was just a child that Dreykov had to implant a chip in to the back of her neck. This turned her into the perfect compliant soldier, capable of mimicking the actions of anyone she sees. Romanoff attempts to kill Dreykov but fails to harm him due to a pheromone lock activated through her sense of smell. Dreykov reveals that he is in control of an army of Widows worldwide which he operates via his desk console. 

Romanoff intentionally slams her forehead down on his desk and breaks her nose, severing a nerve in her nasal passage to negate the pheromone lock, and then attacks Dreykov. Shostakov now suited up as the Red Guardian battles Taskmaster, while Vostokoff takes out one of the facility's engines setting in motion the eventual destruction of the entire complex. Belova goes off in search of the other Widows, who now have to guard Dreykov. Together, Shostakov and Vostokoff capture Taskmaster in a cell. The Widows arrive in Dreykov's office and he orders them to kill Romanoff and to make it long and painful. Just as Romanoff is about to be overcome, Belova arrives and detonates numerous vials of the mind control antidote over the Widow's so freeing them from their life of servitude. 

Romanoff gets into Dreykov's control desk and uploads the locations of the other Widows worldwide as the facility begins to explode and begins its free fall back to the ground below. Romanoff retrieves the two surviving vials of the antidote and frees Taskmaster from the locked cell. Vostokoff and Shostakov escape via a plane while Belova takes out Dreykov's aircraft, killing him and his Red Room soldiers, but Belova is blown clear in the explosion and begins plummeting towards the ground. In freefall, Romanoff gives Belova a parachute before battling Taskmaster. After landing, Romanoff uses one antidote vial on Taskmaster, freeing her from servitude. The freed Widows arrive as Belova, Vostokoff, and Shostakov reluctantly say goodbye to Romanoff, as Ross and a convoy of patrol cars arrive to apprehend her. She hands Belova the last vial of antidote and the portable drive, telling her to locate and free the other, still mind-controlled, Widows. They leave with Antonia, as Romanoff waits for the convoy to pull up.

Two weeks later, a now blonde Romanoff reunites with Mason, who has procured her a Quinjet. She leaves, saying that she came into this with no family, and now she has two intending to make amends and free the imprisoned Avengers. Stay tuned for the end credits sequence too. 

'Black Widow' is a fitting send off and a great big last hurrah for Natasha Romanoff in her own right. Cate Shortland here Directs her first superhero film with aplomb and proves that's she more than capable of helming big budget action spectacles on a US$200M grand scale. This is essentially a espionage story wrapped up in a tale of a dysfunctional family battling it out against a supervillain intent on world domination very much grounded on our humble blue planet rather than the standard MCU offerings of late centreing around intergalactic Gods, faraway planetary systems and those with superhuman powers. Johansson and Pugh are perfectly cast as the surrogate siblings with Pugh especially demonstrating her ability to carry the Black Widow universe in further instalments whichever direction that may go in, and Harbour provides much needed moments of levity amongst the more serious and emotional scenes. A well made stand alone entry into the MCU that delivers on the action, the emotion and the overall story arc. 

'Black Widow' warrants four claps of the Odeon Online clapperboard from a possible five claps.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

THE FAVOURITE : Tuesday 8th January 2019.

'THE FAVOURITE' which I saw this week at my local Art Deco independent theatre, is made by Yorgos Lanthimos, the Greek film, video, and theatre Director, Producer and Screenwriter who here brings us this historical comedy drama offering that saw its World Premier screening at the Venice Film Festival back in late August, and where it won the Grand Jury Prize, and the Volpi Cup for Best Actress going to Olivia Colman. The film went on general release in the US in late November, was released in the UK on 1st January, has so far taken US$28M off the back of a US$15M production Budget, and has garnered widespread Critical acclaim. Lanthimos has enjoyed success more recently also with 'The Lobster' in 2015 and 'The Killing of a Sacred Deer' in 2017. The film was nominated for five Golden Globe Awards including Best Motion Picture of which it won one, for Olivia Colman as Best Actress in a Motion Picture - Comedy or Musical, and has subsequently picked up a total of 78 award wins and another 228 nominations from around the awards and festivals circuit, including thirteen recently announced BAFTA nominations.

Set during the very early years of the 18th century when England is at war with the French, and a frail 42 year old Queen Anne (Olivia Colman) sits on the throne suffering from gout, weight gain, and various other ailments - both physical and mental. She has very little interest in governing her lands and the machinations of the two political parties of the era and instead likes to throw lavish parties, have political guests almost run riot in her Royal household, and care for her seventeen rabbits whom she refers to as her children and which run around freely in her chambers. Each one of the seventeen rabbits represents each one of her seventeen children she had lost over the years, mostly though miscarriages and still births.

Acting as confidante, advisor, lover and practically surrogate Queen is Sarah Churchill, the Duchess of Marlborough (Rachel Weisz) who has considerable sway with the two political parties - the Whigs and the Tories, who mostly look to Sarah as the influential mouthpiece of the Queen, and who in turn they try to influence on matters requiring some direction or a decision.

Meanwhile, Abigail Hill (Emma Stone) arrives at the Royal household seeking employment, having been unceremoniously booted out of a horse drawn carriage at the gate. Abigail was an earlier woman of means, educated, and from a privileged background and upbringing. But for reasons of some poor business choices and a gambling habit, her father lost his good name and fortune and sold his daughter to a German in exchange for a settlement of his debts. And so Abigail has fallen on hard times. Abigail is brought into the Royal palace but as a scullery maid to work in the kitchen on menial tasks - washing pots and scrubbing the floor.

One evening however, Abigail is hurriedly asked to attend the Queen's bed chamber where she lays prone on the floor, and to apply bandages to a sore, infected and inflamed leg. She sees this as an opportunity not to be missed, and so takes a horse early the next morning and rides off into the forest in search of a plant remedy to ease the Queen's suffering, which she then applies in secret. When Sarah initially sees what Abigail has done, and without any permission or knowledge from the Queen (for she slept while Abigail applied the plant extract poultice), she punishes her and orders she be birch whipped for her insolence. However, the Queen's suffering is eased as a result of the remedy, and Sarah can see that her intentions were in fact genuine, so she halts the whipping, and out of gratitude makes Abigail her Lady-in-Waiting.

Robert Harley, the 1st Earl of Oxford and Earl Mortimer (Nicholas Hoult) is a member of Parliament and an influential landowner approaches Abigail with a view to her spying on Sarah and drip feeding him intelligence on what Sarah is scheming behind Royal closed doors, and as a means to sidestep her authority. Abigail initially refuses, but sometime later late at night witnesses Anne and Sarah in a secret lesbian relationship. As a result of this sighting, Abigail begins plotting her own rise to win the Queen's favour and reestablish her position in society.

Sarah becomes increasingly occupied with the war between England and France, at which her husband John Churchill, the 1st Duke of Marlborough (Mark Gatiss) is on the frontline battling it out for Queen and country. This is the opportunity for Abigail to foster a closer relationship still with Anne, which she does to good effect, ultimately becoming a sexual relationship. Sarah catches sight of a naked Abigail lying in bed next to Anne one morning, and as a result urges the Queen to have her sent away.

Catching onto this, Abigail spikes Sarah's tea a few days later just before she rides out on horseback. In the forest, Sarah comes to a steady halt on her horse, leans over, vomits and passes out, falling off the horse with one foot caught in a stirrup. The horse bolts dragging an unconscious Sarah through the rough undergrowth of the forest floor for hours until nightfall. Sarah is missing for a couple of days. Anne thinks that this is just a rouse on Sarah's part to make her jealous, and so she dismisses any suggestions of a search party, rather letting her stew in her own juices.

The Queen once again returns to Abigail as her favourite aided by her flattery and subservient attitude. The Queen's first gift to her new favourite is to be permitted to accept the marriage proposal of Samuel Masham (Joe Alwyn), a Baron of Queen Anne's court, which immediately reinstates Abigail's standing in society, aided by a gift of a two thousand pound dowry from the Queen every year from this point on.

Later Sarah comes round in a brothel where her wounds had been attended to do by the Madam of the house. She returns to the Royal household some days later badly scarred to her left cheek, battered and bruised and issues an ultimatum to the Queen to send Abigail away now once and for all, otherwise she'll leak very personal letters to the press that recount the secret affair between the pair. However, Sarah's ploy backfires and ultimately destroys the relationship that she had enjoyed for years with the Queen. As a result, Sarah is stripped of any power she once had, her privileges and her place in the Royal court, and is sent back to her own family home. Sarah then makes numerous attempts to write a letter of reconciliation back to Anne, and finally after finding the words, the letter is intercepted by Abigail and burned on the open fire before it reaches the Queen.

Abigail, as the newly appointed keeper of the Royal finances, reports to Anne that there seems to have been some impropriety in the financial records of the Royal palace, and Sarah appears to have syphoned off seven thousand pounds over recent years in favour of her husband. The Queen initially dismisses this notion, but upon reflection has Sarah and her husband banished from Great Britain. With Sarah now well and truly gone, Abigail's appetite for the good life start to get the better of her. Lavish parties, wild entertainment, rich foods, good wine begin to take their toll.

One day while Anne rests in her bed, and Abigail sits in a chair looking out of the window slurping on a glass of wine with seventeen rabbits running around, she deliberately steps on a rabbit squeezing it under her foot. The rabbit lets out a tiny yelp in pain and fear which is just enough to stir the Queen from her slumber, and for her to take grave offence at. Falling out of bed and scrambling to her feet, Anne steadies herself while Abigail rushes over to assist. Anne grabs Abigail by the hair and orders her to her knees and to start massaging her legs, just as though she were a lowly servant. In massaging the legs of the Queen, both parties seemingly readjust to a new order.

'The Favourite' is a lavish production - from the set design, to the costumes, to the internal and external surroundings around which the film is framed, and it packs a punch a whole lot more than its mere US$15M production Budget would suggest. This is a wickedly entertaining partially historical telling of the fractured relationships that unfolded in the Royal household of England circa 1708, and specifically between the three very manipulative, very strong, very driven female characters. There are some genuinely laugh out loud moments in this film, particularly a dance sequence at a party that has to be seen to be believed involving Harley and Sarah dancing like its 1999 in the Royal household - hysterical! And the use of the 'C' word gets plenty of airing in the film too - hence its MA15+ rating. Lanthimos succeeds in ticking all the boxes - from the striking performances of the three female leads Colman, Stone and Weisz who all demonstrate jealousy, anger, cunning and a nervous tension in equal measure, and from Hoult too; to the production values; to the witty, intense and always sharp dialogue; to the score; and the storyline whilst grounded in historical fact also adds more than a dash of fictional poetic license. And why not, when it all adds up to a film as commendable as this. See it on the big screen while you can, and see for yourself what all the buzz surrounding this film is about.

'The Favourite' merits four claps of the Odeon Online clapperboard from a possible five.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

What's new in Odeon's this week - Thursday 8th June 2017.

Celebrating its 64th year, The Sydney Film Festival launches on Wednesday 7th June and runs for twelve days up until, and including,  Sunday 18th June. This year features four hundred sessions screened at selected cinemas in and around Sydney and 288 films shown in and out of competition as part of the programme. The Opening Night film is the world premier of Warwick Thornton's 'We Don't Need A Map' in which the film maker investigates our relationship with The Southern Cross as we journey through this five-star constellation's astronomical, colonial and Indigenous history to the present day. The Closing Night film is Korean Director Bong Joon-ho's 'Okja' starring Tilda Swinton, Jake Gyllenhaal, Paul Dano, Daniel Henshall and Steven Yuen about a young girl who fights to save her best friend of the past ten years - a giant animal named Okja - from an unscrupulous corporate business that have different plans. Seven recently added films to this years programme come straight from the recent Cannes Film Festival -  including Palme d'Or winner 'The Square', and 'Im Not A Witch', 'Jupiters Moon', 'Good Time' and 'A Man of Integrity'. Of the twelve films in Official Competition, the winning feature film is presented with a AU$60K award in recognition of the most courageous, audacious and cutting-edge new cinema. These films include 'The Beguiled', 'Happy End', 'I Am Not Your Negro', 'On Body and Soul', 'Una' 'The Untamed', 'Wolf and Sheep', 'We Don't Need a Map' and 'Felicity'. For full details of the Festival Programme, go to www.sff.org.au

This week we have four new movies about to do the rounds, kicking off with a reboot of a successful  ancient Egyptian action adventure franchise of the late '90's/early'00's, but which has its history in the movies going back more than eighty years, then a bio-pic of sorts that shows some poetic license over the real life events that unfolded before a significant turning point in WWII as the British Prime Minister at the time ponders over the go/no go implications of his decision. We then turn to a period piece based on a notable book of 1951 and its last big screen adaptation of 1952, of family intrigue, drama and emotion, before wrapping up with a CG animated action thriller based on a hugely popular shoot 'em up video game that has spawned this third animated feature plus a live action franchise too.

Whatever your taste in big screen film entertainment is this week - be it any of the four as Previewed below, or those as Reviewed and Previewed in previous Blog Posts here at Odeon Online, be reminded to share your movie going thoughts, opinions and observations by leaving your relevant, succinct and appropriate views in the Comments section below this or any other Post. We'd love to hear from you, and in the meantime, enjoy your cinema experience this week.

'THE MUMMY' (Rated M) - this ancient Egyptian action adventure film is a reboot of the late '90's franchise that saw Brendan Fraser portraying the 1923 American explorer Rick O'Connell as  he battles against the revived corpse of an Egyptian Priest, Imhotep, as he rises back into a force to be reckoned with and intent on destroying the world as we know it. That 1999 film Directed and Written by Stephen Sommers went on to spawn two sequels - in 2001, 'The Mummy Returns' and in 2008 'The Mummy : Tomb of the Dragon Emperor'. The three films were made for a combined budget of US$323M and raked in at the global Box Office a collective US$1.42B. These films also saw a spin-off series kick starting with 'The Scorpion King' in 2002 with Dwayne Johnson in the title role and three direct to video follow-ups in 2008, 2012 and 2015. Of course the Mummy has a long history in film lore, going back most notably to 1932's 'The Mummy' Directed by Karl Freund and starring one Boris Karloff as our bandaged from head to toe ancient antagonist. Now in 2017, 'The Mummy' is once again resurrected, dusted off and brought out to play. This time Directed by Alex Kurtzman and Co-Written by David Koepp and Christopher McQuarrie this is the first instalment in 'The Dark Universe' series of films that will subsequently see reboots of 'Bride of Frankenstein' in 2019, 'Creature from the Black Lagoon' also in 2019, 'The Invisible Man' in 2020, 'Van Helsing' and 'Wolf Man' both thereafter.

Here we see Nick Morton (Tom Cruise) in the present day as a marauding soldier of fortune plundering ancient artefacts for sale to the highest bidder. When things go awry for Nick and his partner somewhere in the Middle East as a result of uncovering an ancient tomb housing Ahmanet (Sofia Boutella) - a betrayed Egyptian Princess who has been mummified and entombed for thousands of years, and has grown mightily pissed off during that time. Once resurrected from her forced incarceration, she sets in motion a plan to make the world her own by destroying everything that mankind has built up in the ensuing couple of millennia. Only Morton and his cohorts, it seems, can save the world from this evil no good monster as the action and adventure takes us from the ancient ruins of Egypt to the streets of modern day London. Also starring Russell Crowe as Dr. Henry Jekyll, Courtney B. Vance, Jake Johnson and Annabelle Wallis. The film Premiered in Sydney on 22nd May, goes on general release in the US and Australia this week, and cost US$125M to bring to our screens.

'CHURCHILL' (Rated M) - here Australian Writer and Director Jonathan Teplitzky, whose previous credits include 2013's 'The Railway Man' with Nicole Kidman and Colin Firth, once again turns his hand to historical drama, based on a story written by British historian and author Alex von Tunzelmann. Set during the four days in the lead up to the Allied Invasion of the Normandy D-Day landings of June 6th 1944, here the film centres on Winston Churchill (Brian Cox) trying to reconcile the demons of the ill fated Gallipoli landings in 1915, before making any rash decisions to go head to head against the German forces on the beaches of northern France. Approaching 70 years of age, Churchill here wants his legacy to be that of a war hero, a great historical figure, the mastermind behind Britain's greatest wartime victory, rather than the man who orchestrated the mindless and needless slaughter of thousands of young men. With General Dwight Eisenhower (Tony Slattery) and Field Marshall Bernard Montgomery (Julian Wadham) growing increasingly frustrated and impatient with Churchill's indecision to mount an attack or not, as the long pre-determined date approaches, it seems that only his wife Clementine (Miranda Richardson) has the presence of mind to steer Churchill to the best course of action and halt his physical and mental collapse after years of war mongering and political uncertainty. Also starring James Purefoy as King George VI.

'MY COUSIN RACHEL' (Rated M) - based on the Daphne du Maurier book of the same name first published in 1951, this is the first big screen adaptation of that novel since the 1952 film of the same name starring Richard Burton as Philip Ashley and Olivia de Havilland playing Rachel Ashley. Here Roger Michell wrote the Screenplay and Directs this latest adaptation with Rachel Weisz as Rachel and Sam Claflin as Philip who plots revenge against his beautiful cousin for allegedly murdering his guardian. But as time wears on Philip finds himself drawn to the mysterious Rachel as he falls under her charming spell and his feelings toward her become ever more complicated. Also starring Iain Glen and Holliday Grainger, this film is released in the US and the UK this week too.

'RESIDENT EVIL : VENDETTA' (Rated MA15+) - this Japanese 3D animated action-thriller film is part of the 'Resident Evil' franchise, and takes place in the same dimension (unlike the live action offerings starring Milla Jovovich) as the hugely popular and successful video games series. The film features the principle characters Chris Redfield (Kevin Dorman), Leon S. Kennedy (Matthew Mercer) and Rebecca Chambers (Erin Cahill) and is the third CG movie, after 2008's 'Resident Evil: Degeneration' and 2012's 'Resident Evil: Damnation' and was Written by Makoto Fukami and Directed by Takanori Tsujimoto. Set sometime between the events of 'Resident Evil 6' (the action adventure third person video game) and 'Resident Evil 7' (the survival horror first person video game) here Bioterrorism Security Assessment Alliance agent Chris Redfield enlists the support of American government agent Leon S. Kennedy and Professor Rebecca Chambers to halt Glenn Arias (Alexander Polinsky), a death merchant who is on a mission of vengeance, from spreading a new deadly zombie virus on New York City. The film was released in Japan at the end of May, and goes on release in selected Australian cinemas this week and likewise in the US as of 19th June.

Once again, there are four very different movie offerings released this coming week, three of which tender something historical - fantasy adventure, fictional drama and poetic license biographical, and the fourth, futuristic video game action thrills. Whatever your taste is over the following seven days, be sure to share your film going musings with your like minded cinephiles here at Odeon Online. Meanwhile, I'll see you sometime, somewhere in the week ahead at your local Odeon.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

THE LOBSTER : Saturday 14th November 2015.

'THE LOBSTER', which I saw over the weekend, has received generally positive reviews although it is hailed as weird, surreal, and quite unlike anything before seen. And it certainly is that - bizarre is how I would describe it and I struggled to connect with this near future dystopian romantic comedy that in its latter half I felt my attention ebbing away as it seemed to be going around in circles before reaching its final destination - and when it does the ending comes very abruptly.

Made for just US$4.5M this film has so far grossed US$2.7M and is likely to find a select audience only of alternative art house types wanting to see this Written, Produced and Directed Film by Greek Yorgos Lanthimos in his English language debut. The film was shown at this years Cannes Film Festival where it took out the Jury Prize and it was shown in the Special Presentations section too and this years Toronto International Film Festival, and at the recent Adelaide Film Festival also.

Although we don't know when, 'The Lobster' is set in the very near future, and we open up with David (Colin Farrell) sat on the sofa at home being delivered the news by his wife in the background that their marriage of eleven or so years is over. A dog sits beside him at his feet. He seems accepting of this news, resigned to his fate, asks a few questions and the next day or so he boards a bus with his dog and a small suitcase in tow. He is taken to 'The Hotel' where he goes through a series of personal questions, bodily inspections, given a new set of clothes and a set of rules by which he must abide by in the time he is there. Escorted to his room overlooking a stretch of water David makes himself comfortable with his dog.

In this near future society those single individuals are rounded up and taken to The Hotel where they have 45 days in which to find a mate amongst the other occupants. If they do find a match this is celebrated and they then have a month in which to live together in another section to determine if they are truly compatible, and if so they are released back to 'The City'. If however, they are unsuccessful they are killed and reincarnated as an animal of their pre-determined choice and released into the nearby woods. David advises the Hotel Manager (Olivia Colman) that his choice is to become a lobster - because they can live for 100 years, continue to reproduce throughout their entire life, are sea dwelling blue bloods and therefore a little aristocratic, and live in the sea which he has an affinity with. The dog that has accompanied David we learn is his brother, who stayed in The Hotel previously and was unsuccessful in his attempt to find a match.

Early on over breakfast David meets up with The Lisping Man (John C. Reilly) and The Limping Man (Ben Whishaw) and the three form a bond. There are planned activities to keep the occupants of The Hotel amused which includes propaganda acted out on stage about the virtues of being a couple over being single in this new world order, simulated sexual arousal with a hotel maid because masturbation is strictly forbidden, and 'The Hunt' where occupants venture out in to the woods armed with tranquilliser guns to capture 'The Loners' - those who have escaped from The Hotel and seek a singular existence. Each Loner captured guarantees one extra day of human existence.

As time progresses The Limping Man matches up with The Nosebleed Woman, by faking his own nosebleeds to garner empathy and foster a connection. They get together and are determined a match and move out for the month to test their true compatibility. David meets up with The Heartless Woman - an ice maiden with zero personality, nerves of steel and needless to say seemingly no heart but a stellar track record at bringing in Loners, so much so that she has raked up 100+ bonus days at The Hotel. Through some of his own manipulation The Heartless Woman determines that they may be matched and so they are put to the test for a month. However, one morning when she awakens him with a bloodied leg she announces that she has kicked his dog to death in the bathroom. Realising they are not compatible, David overcomes her and secretly takes her to 'The Transformation Room' where he turns her into an animal, although what animal is not revealed. He then escapes into the woods and is taken in by The Loners.

The Loners here sleep in the undergrowth, forage for food, have their own set of rules by which they must abide and must remain hidden during The Hunt for fear of capture. The Loners are governed over by The Loner Leader (Lea Seydoux) and here David meets with The Shortsighted Woman (Rachel Weisz) with whom he strikes a connection being shortsighted himself, and The Loner Swimmer (Michael Smiley). From time to time there are covert missions back to The City where the four will go together undercover as couples eating in cafes, shopping for clothes and visiting the parents of The Loner Leader and talking over tea.  David and The Shortsighted Woman secretly enjoy these outings as it enables them to connect physically and be the couple they secretly long to be.

Things take a cruel twist for The Shortsighted Woman at the hands of The Loner Leader when their clandestine affair is revealed. This leaves David unsure of his feelings for her as her physical abilities now would make her so much more dependant upon on him and very difficult given their woodland existence. However, over time he warms to her once more and they hatch a plan to return to The City and live as the couple they long to be. Sat in a restaurant we see David take his leave to go to the restroom armed with a steak knife to inflict upon himself the same disability that The Shortsighted Woman now has, in order that they both can share a true connection again. And . . . fade to black, pause,and roll the credits!

This is a bizarre, weird, very alternative film that will not be for everyone. It explores the meaning of relationships, the need for acceptance and to conform, what is compatibility, and how fixated we are on being one half of a couple - casually, temporarily or permanently. The first half of the film is a lot more engaging than the second half which I thought meandered around without really going anywhere. There are some genuine laugh out loud moments in the film as well as some shocks and surprises, but equally there are some frustrations too where the scene is left hanging and you're left wondering - no more so than right at the end! Colin Farrell plays against type here and convincingly enough as the portly deadpan unassuming anti-hero having stacked on the kilos for his architect character thrown into a very different environment where relationships are a matter of life and death!

With six award wins already and another twelve nominations pending, this is a film to search out if your looking for an alternative, quirky, at times disturbing film that will make you reflect on what you know of our dating society, relationships, the meaning of love and how we view singles over couples.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-