Faces were pulled when production group JAI announced they
were releasing a film with them theme of social realism. Ken Loach successfully
produced ‘Catchy Come Home’ with a similar aspect of homelessness but will JAI
be able to compare? Their latest, The Magazine, even
manages to evoke a sense of extreme desperation through – the grass and debris
of Burgess Hill. JAI doesn’t just film actors speaking lines, or chose to
develop stories in conventional ways. They are about perspectives, about where
to place the camera in order to heighten, explore and complicate the viewing
experience.
Louise Martin Gaff takes on the role of Louise, a character which
pushes all of her acting qualities and after her role in Cabaret- The Film, big
things are expected from her which she succeeds to do so in ‘The Magazine’. She
manages to represent all 3 different notions of class in one film. It’s not
only her kindness to strangers or how she is oblivious to her surroundings its
her ability to transform herself into 3 different people. The 3 different personalities
don’t quite match DiCaprio’s feature in Shutter Island but creates the
sensitive person every audience member will fall in love with. It sadly
foreshadows her downfall, which makes it even more tragic at the ending.
The film doesn’t start off so promisingly. There are long pauses
and sloppy acting which does not begin to set the audience up for anything
special but as the film moves along, the pace starts to builds up and it gets
better. Combining the genres of thriller
and social realism always creates an interesting film as it’s like a mix
between Psycho and Fishtank with the use of kidnapping and guns to the theme of
homelessness. Combining the two with the aspect of flash backs really make it
work. It contrasts Jason Eisener’s work by toning down the violence whilst
creating an atmosphere even more chilling due to using a younger actor which
sets the message of social realism that it can happen to anybody.
JAI’s use of plot twists confuses, captivates and controls
the audience’s minds by making the whole film become either an illusion or a
dream due to the way it is interpreted by the audience and the way they craft
their shots transforming it into a mystery. The dramatic ending is unexpected
due to its mediocre pace and its worry for the ending to be too predictable but
they managed to turn around all expectations and save the film.
Overall JAI delivers a good film; their plot fulfils the
purpose of shocking and making the audience think about how easy it is to get
homelessness so praise must be given for raising awareness of homelessness but
there will always be a better film or way to raise awareness about this topic.
