IMPROVED Review

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.