Transcripts For BBCNEWS The Film Review 20180105

Hello and a very warm welcome to the film review on bbc news. To take us through this weeks cinema releases im joined by Jason Solomons. What have you been watching this week . This week, we find out what happened when Christopher Plummer replaced kevin spacey in Ridley Scotts all the money in the world, a kidnap drama set mainly in 19705 italy but also on a huge estate in england. And saddle up for the return of the wild west. But is it the western revived or revised in hostiles . Christian bale and Rosamund Pike, take to the wide open spaces for the violence of the wild west. And ben stiller checks in for a midlife crisis in brads status, a comedy about middle age and loss and reflecting on your existence while you take your son to colleges. But lets start with all the money in the world. Im reeling from the fact that Christopher Plummer is 88, because he looks astonishing. That is what you can do with all the money in the world, a lot of cgi john paul getty, who kevin spacey was playing, and the film has been despaceyed and replaced very famously by Christopher Plummer, the very feat of that is what marks this film out as a footnote in film history. Extraordinary from ridley scott to reshape his film around a new performance in Christopher Plummer. We watch the film now, especially in this climate, trying to see the join, to see if there was a ready break glow of cgi inserts from Christopher Plummer. Can we spot the ghost of kevin spacey you cant at all. The film is seamlessly done, and the reshoots are beautifully done and i think Christopher Plummer is fabulous in the role ofjohn paul getty. I think they would have been a different. Ridley scott talked about how Christopher Plummer has a twinkle in his eye, whereas kevin spacey has a more cold look, more evil look, and i think that gives the film a lot more heart. We kind of pityjohn paul getty for being the richest man, but he is notjust the richest man but the richest man there has ever been in the world. And his grandson is kidnapped. Yes, thats the essence. It was a huge media case back in the 19705, it gripped the world, asjohn paul getty refused to pay the ransom, 17 million, which back in 1973 was quite a lot of money the point was that it became this kind of case and he refused to budge and i think we are supposed to seejohn paul getty as a curmudgeonly scrooge type, but Christopher Plummer gives it a real edge. There is a fabulous speech about him not trusting people, only objects, of which he amasses a huge amount. They dont give him grief. But the rest of the film is going on, Michelle Williams, golden globe nominated, and we will find out the results from la on monday morning. The film has been nominated for, i guess, the feat of scott getting it together. Christopher plummer is nominated for that performance and Michelle Williams is nominated for the performance of gayle, the mum, and here she is wandering into the media storm in italy. Hubbub of voices. My son, paul, must be very frightened right now. I know im frightened for him. So, to the people who took him, i dont care why you did this, but i ask as a mother that you think of your own children or the child that you once were and set my boy free. Thank you. Her sons disappeared. A mother should cry for her son. Enough. Let the lady through. Lets go hubbub of voices. Miss getty, im corvo. Im the lead investigator. Would you please follow us. Grazie. Hubbub of voices. Tell us more. You said you had the money. Hubbub of voices. What about your son . Miss getty im a big fan of Michelle Williams, and she has spoken quite nicely about how she felt ridley scott was trying to really show this horrendous story of the kidnap of a child through the mother s eyes. Does that work, does it come through . It is there. She reminded me of Katherine Hepburn with that accent. The problem is i didnt know who i should be watching. Obviously the story between kevin spacey and Christopher Plummer deflected a lot, and i was watching plummer and its quite a hammy role, asjohn paul getty. Shes doing something else. And then youve got the son, played by charlie plummer, no relation, kidnapped and held hostage in calabria by the italian mafia. So you never quite know what the centre of the story is. For me, it became about plummer, and it kind of eclipses Michelle Williams, who is very good in the role, and the film looks good in a classic ridley scott smooth way. Itjust didnt get to the heart of the matter. Your heart went out to what it must be like to being the richest man in the world. Its something ive been contemplating thats curious and rather enjoying. Curious is the next film going to be quite brutal . I have heard lots about it but not seen it, hostiles. There is always room for one or two westerns per year now. It used to be what hollywood and america was made on. But now hostiles, i think we can tell there is irony in the title. Its what american armies called, what american cowboys and soldiers used to call the native americans, the injuns they were known as. Were not allowed to call them that now. When you have a film that revises that, what do you do about the brutality of the old west . The way of the gun. This film opens with Rosamund Pike and her entire family wiped out by comanche indians, so you are already thinking, i dont see where the balance is with a new look at the west, where we expect White America to be slightly kind of apologetic for the way native americans were treated. This film doesnt do that, which is rather brave of it. Christian bale is the army man who has to escort a posse of cheyenne indians back to their natural homeland, and they come under attack from comanche indians. It is about warring factions. Nobody comes out of it particularly well. It is fairly brutal and bleak landscape. But i think that is what it was like. So that realism that is coming into the western, that revisionism of what the hero is, pat garritt, and going back to billy the kid or dances with wolves with kevin costner. But it doesnt quite tell it from the point of view of the indian. Quite a tough watch . It is. And you dont get the payoff that you usually get with the hero emerging. A bit more uplift in our third choice today, i say with some hope . Its a comedy, but a maudlin one, about ben stiller experiencing a midlife crisis. I thought this was very funny, directed by mike whyte, who people might know as the director of school of rock forjack black. This is about ben stiller who has to take his son, troy, on a tour of colleges. Americans do this, flying off to see which colleges they want to get into, one of which is harvard. Ben stiller was never able to get into it, as brad but his son troy harbours great ambitions of getting into it. But it sparks in brad, a reminiscence about all of his College Chums and how much better than him they have all done at life. A ha. I couldnt help but wonder, when was the last time craig fisher flew in economy . Probably not in decades. Mr fisher, can i offer you a warm towel . Yes, thank you. I know Jason Hadfield has his own private plane. Never has to fly commercial at all. Nick pascale probably flies private, too. Must be nice to always have the seas part for you. Nothing out of reach. Everything an option. It must be like a drug, always feeling important and special. Better than, all the adventures, the exotic destinations. 0h, great. So does everyone leave the cinema feeling completely inadequate . A first world problem. They are. He envies everyone, his sons youth, his sons friends, they are all perky and bright. But then he confesses to them and they say, to pull yourself together, mate. You are all right. You live in sacramento, thats about the only thing you have done well. Its about assessing those things, and i thought it was painfully smart and painfully funny, well done and very well performed by ben stiller, who i think we think of as a cometic performer, doing his blue steel lot. We do, yes. But he does this well and he gets that midlife crisis very well, but perhaps its a bit close to home for me, not that my son is at college yet. Best out . Lets talk about something lovely. Why not. The best out. You ask me this, i still have to say paddington 2. It is notjust the best out, it is one of the best films of last year and stretching into this year. It is doing great box office. Its still there, charming everyone. And i think he isjust adorable in all his little outfits, lost in the big city of london. I mean, ive seen it twice. I would happily go again. If i was the richest man in the world, id go and see paddington 2 everyday. In your own private jet. Surely you would have one of those, Jason Solomons . For anybody who wants to stay in . I would get the dvd of limehouse gollum, it is out now. This is a sort of east end set victorian melodrama style. Starring the great bill nighy and a wonderful performance from 0livia cooke, a young british actor. Danny mays is in there. It is about murders going on. A sort ofjack the ripper style thriller set in the east end with all of the london fog and people out and about like oliver creatures going out and going oom pah pah, but there is a grisly murder at the bottom of it, and it captures that gothic horror of london very, very well. Interesting and well done. Lovely. And as you have hinted award season is nearly upon us, so well be talking plenty in the coming weeks. Thank you very much for now, Jason Solomons. That is a taster of what is on offer this week. A quick reminder before we go, all our film news and reviews from across the bbc are online. Im sure you know the address but there it is, bbc. Co. Uk mark kermode. And all previous programmes are on the iplayer. That is it for this week, though. It has been a rather wet and windy start to the year, the weather is 110w start to the year, the weather is now quietening down and there is dry weather on the cards but theres a lot of lime water around. This picture was taken early in the day, showing we have had a lot of wet weather, and still a few showers in the next 24 hour. Shum studio many places avoiding those wintry showers, turning pretty cold overnight, temperatures just remaining above freezing in towns and cities but subzero in the countryside, and there could icy stretches on the roads first thing saturday morning, and showers falling onto pretty cold services, and plenty of those showers along the south coast. Mist and fog patches likely. A little bit of light patchy rain for parts of north wales but much of Northern England and Northern Ireland and scotland with a different day and a return to sunshine on saturday, although some wintry showers especially across parts of aberdeen and the Scottish Borders down to northumberland. A lot of dry and bright weather across the northern half of the country, but further south, staying fairly cloudy, but the cloud will be edging south and we are likely to see the sun making a reappearance in birmingham. It will be a few degrees above freezing. Saturday night turning cold all over the country, we have the north easterly wind, and with clearing skies, we will see temperatures falling below freezing, well below freezing, we might have 1o well below freezing, we might have 10 in the sheltered glens of scotland, so widespread sharp frost and the chance of some ice first thing sunday morning, but sunday looks like a fine day, glorious blue skies and sunshine across almost all of the country. More cloud along the south coast, temperatures 0 seven across the country, and then the fine weather sticks around as we move through sunday night into monday, but a subtle change in wind direction as we head into the new working week. Monday, the wind coming in bringing more cloud across southern parts, and further north, still dry and bright but times only around 3 6 and it will remain fairly chilly and wintry over the next few days. This is bbc world news today. Im kasia madera. Our top stories. Fire and fury. The author of the incendiary new book about Donald Trumps white house speaks in his first broadcast interview since publication. I will tell you the one description that everyone gave, everyone has in common. To talks with the south the first in more than two years. The film that kevin spacey was in, and then wasnt. We talk to director ridley scott about the business of replacing the actor after allegations of sexual misconduct