With the exception of Titanic, the last three posts have looked at how British films did rather well in terms of garnering nominations throughout the 1990s. However the majority of these nominations were given to films set during Elizabethan or Edwardian times with many of them featuring an endless cycle of exquisite costumes and loads of sodding bowing. But there was another type of British film that was gaining momentum in the nineties with a focus on more contemporary issues and a look at the way in which the working class were coping with various problems.
Not that there were many working class characters in our first offering, Mike Newell's Four Weddings and a Funeral. The movie was most famous for launching the international film careers of two prominent personalities one in front of the screen and one behind. Screenwriter Richard Curtis earned an Oscar nod for his original screenplay which was based on the fact that he was suddenly attending a lot of weddings. Curtis' well-observed if overly corny script certainly rung true in places and marked him out as the king of the romantic comedy over the following decade. He would also go on to collaborate with the film's leading male Hugh Grant, who we've already seen do his thing in costume dramas. Four Weddings really saw him utilise his slightly awkward persona which he would utilise in such flops as Nine Months and Mickey Blue Eyes. Whilst I found Grant's turn here incredibly endearing I felt he lacked chemistry with the film's female lead Andie Macdowell. Macdowell's presence in the film was obviously to increase audience interest and include a star that the American audience would've been aware of. However I thought Macdowell didn't handle Curtis' comic dialogue at all well and her line at the end of the film asking if it was still raining was incredibly cringeworthy. Additionally I felt that Curtis' plot device to keep them apart, by having Macdowell's Carrie marry an elderly Scottish politician was fairly absurd. While I agree that Carrie having another beau made sense, I never felt that she and Corin Redgrave were a good match so I wasn't surprised when they'd divorced quite quickly. Meanwhile I felt that Grant's Charlie really should've acted on the fact that Kristin Scott Thomas' Fiona was madly in love with him as she was a lot more interesting.
Indeed the scenes I really enjoyed throughout Four Weddings were those featuring Charlie's friends all of whom had distinct personalities. Simon Callow's Gavin was an absolute joy, lighting up the screen before breaking everybody's hearts when he died at Carrie's wedding. One of the highlights of the film is John Hannah's Matthew delivering a moving eulogy to his late lover which famously included the use of WH Auden's 'Stop All the Clocks'. In fact I felt the inclusion of a gay couple in a major romantic comedy was a groundbreaking move at the time but neither Matthew nor Gavin ever behaved in a clichéd manner. At the same time you believed that they truly loved each other and that's a testament to both Hannah and Callow. James Fleet also got his moment to shine as the foppish Tom whose heart to heart with Charlie following the funeral is another memorable moment. Meanwhile the late Charlotte Coleman's Scarlett was a firecracker whose unusual dress sense and dyed hair still stick in the memory. I feel that the film rings true for anybody whose ever attended a wedding as Curtis explores the monotony of the celebrations as the day goes on. I personally enjoyed the awkward speeches and the dreariness as the post-wedding discos began to wind down. I think I would've preferred more of these well-observed moments as opposed to the more overtly comic sections of the movie most notably the second wedding ceremony being performed by Rowan Atkinson's novice vicar. The film's other notable contribution to pop culture was Wet Wet Wet's cover of 'Love is all Around' which seemed to loiter at the top of the pop charts for what seemed like an eternity. I have a long-running history with Four Weddings, dating back to when I rented it on VHS at the tender age of twelve. I do believe that Carrie and Charlie's drunken fumblings in their hotel room was my first ever on screen sex scene and has probably scarred me for life. Despite not really buying into the central relationship, I still think Four Weddings is a funny and believable look at a tight-knit friendship group who really care deeply about each other. For me the real love story is about Charlie's feelings for his friends rather than his relationship with the dreadful Carrie.
Similarly well-observed, but not as tightly-scripted, was Mike Leigh's excellent Secret and Lies. I have to say I was surprised to see a film from a very British director like Leigh gain so much Oscar buzz. In fact the film ultimately had five Oscar nominations to its name with Leigh being nominated for both his direction and script. Not that there was much scripting to talk of as Leigh only provided his actors with bare-bone accounts of each scene and a description of their characters. I feel that this helped to provide the realism that the film has in droves and why each character feels interestingly recognisable. The main plot of the film concentrates on intelligent optometrist Hortence who, following the death of her adopted mother, tries to find the woman who gave birth to her.After an exhausting search, Hortence discovers that her mother is a white working-class woman with a complicated family life of her own. The woman in question is Cynthia, a harassed factory worker who is struggling for money and has a strained relationship with her daughter Roxanne. Cynthia's relationship with her brother Maurice and his wife Monica is also explored throughout the film which particularly deals with the aspect of class. Whilst Cynthia has stayed in the family home, Maurice's job as a photographer has afforded he and Monica a new house. Cynthia's apparent jealousy of this new purchase adds to the problems she already has with Monica, who she blames for her lack of contact with Maurice. I personally really liked the scene in which Hortense and Cynthia meet for the first time as it feels so raw and genuine. The primary reason for this is that Leigh hadn't informed actress Brenda Blethyn that Hortense was black meaning that Cynthia's reaction was a completely realistic one. Similarly the scene was shot in one take meaning that Blethyn and Marianne Jean-Baptiste had to work their socks off to provide something spectacular. The film itself culminates at a barbecue that Monica and Maurice hold for Roxanne's birthday with Hortense attending under the guise of Cynthia's work colleague. From there the secrets and lies of the title are finally revealed and everybody comes to terms with the new information they've been given.
Of the three films in this post, Secrets and Lies is the only one that I'd never seen before and I'm now wondering why it took me so long to find it in the first place. Leigh's minimal use of scripted dialogue allows the actors to create something naturalistic which is very hard to do in films. The barbecue scenes were particularly realistic from Maurice's manning of the grill to Monica's worries that she won't have enough garden chairs. One of the best recurring sequences of the entire piece is the small segments in which Leigh shows us some of the characters who come into Maurice's studio to have their photo taken. These scenes show all aspects of human life from happy couples and families to a woman who is having photos of her battered face being taken ahead of an impending court case. Andrew Dickson's haunting score perfectly punctuates each scene and contributes to the film's bleaker qualities. It's hard to highlight one member of Leigh's stunning ensemble cast with each of them taking their turn to give winning performances. Brenda Blethyn's jittery turn as the emotionally fraught Cynthia anchors the film beautifully with her use of the word 'sweetheart' having several different meanings. Her performance is perfectly counterbalanced by that of Marianne Jean-Baptiste who presents Hortense as a cool and calm professional woman. Timothy Spall's turn as the reliable Maurice is perfectly realised whilst Phyllis Logan really comes into her own as Monica in the film's final act. Claire Rushbrook is great as the stroppy Roxanne whilst Lee Ross and Elizabeth Berrington shine in smaller roles. Leigh himself deserves praise for perfecting the kitchen sink drama and adding a new element to it in the form of the cultured Hortense. If I have one minor criticism it's that I don't think the scene in which the former owner of Maurice's studio visits him quite works. Apart from that though, Leigh's work is a thing of beauty and I'm happy to say that he's still creating brilliant dramas such as this almost twenty years later.
The final film of this trio combines the working class elements of Secrets and Lies with the comedic charm of Four Weddings and some of its own magic. The Full Monty instantly conjures up certain images in people's heads but I feel that some of you forget that Peter Cattaneo's film is ultimately about a group of unemployed men. This is demonstrated perfectly in the film's opening scene which is taken from a 1970s movie reel entitled 'City on the Move' which looked at Sheffield's thriving steel industry. But, in the late 1990s, the industry had disappeared and the men who used to work there were forced to go on the dole. The characters in The Full Monty have all decided to deal with their new unemployment in different ways even if all these methods ultimately have the same outcome. The film's protagonist Gaz is a happy-go-lucky type who wants to maintain a relationship with his young son despite the boy's mother filing for full custody. His best mate Dave is paranoid that his wife is having an affair and therefore has started to withdraw from life. Meanwhile security guard Lomper tries to commit suicide to get away from a life which is split between looking after his elderly mother and playing in the local brass band. The most compelling character, who deserved more screen time, is Tom Wilkinson's Gerald a man who is yet to tell his wife that he's been made redundant. Gerald is certainly one for keeping up appearances and I think one of The Full Monty's most tragic moments is when the bailiffs start calling round. Writer Simon Beaufoy's script perfectly combines all of these elements with the Gaz's money-making scheme to put on a strip show for the area's local ladies. The scenes featuring the lads training for their stripping debut add some much needed light to proceedings but I feel never overshadow the characters. This use of light and shade is one of The Full Monty's most positive attributes and is one of the reasons that audiences have returned to the comedy drama time and time again.
I do remember watching this film when it first aired on television and by that point it had become a worldwide phenomenon following its Oscar success. In fact the film won an award for Best Musical and Comedy Score, thankfully one Oscar that Titanic wasn't eligible for. Watching it for the first time in years, I didn't realise how quick The Full Monty was and it almost feels a little rushed. Due to the short running time several subplots don't get enough time devoted to them especially the relationship between Lomper and Guy. I felt that both Dave's anxieties about his weight and Gerald's need to get back to work needed to be explored in more depth but both were outshone by Gaz's tale. Not that there's anything wrong with that as Robert Carlyle's breezy performance is a joy as his chemistry with Mark Addy who plays Dave. Young William Snape is excellent as Gaz's son Nathan and clearly portrays a boy who loves his dad despite his many faults. I do feel it's a shame that not one of the cast members were nominated for an Oscar, especially Wilkinson who steals the show as the incredibly proud Gerald. Wilkinson's performance is possibly the most tragic and he is able to convey a man who's devoted all his life to the steel industry. Possibly one of the film's lasting legacies is its use of music most notably Hot Chocolate's 'You Sexy Thing' and Donna Summer's 'Hot Stuff'. Interestingly the iconic 'Hot Stuff' dole queue scene was initially cut from the film as Cattaneo didn't feel it was realistic enough however I believe it represents how much their new passion means to the men. Despite feeling rushed, The Full Monty is an enjoyable film that has a lot to say about the failing industries in the UK and the affect it has on the men who face redundancy. An uplifting look at the many personalities that can find themselves unemployed, The Full Monty is the dictionary definition of a feelgood hit.
Next time we look at another film with an iconic music based scene that certainly got quite a few people into pottery.
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