Lives of the Saints
With three films on release at the moment, it would appear that Tony Grisoni is one of the most prolific screenwriters in the country. Tideland and Brothers of the Head are both adaptations of other people's books, as was Fear and Loathing, but Lives of the Saints is an original piece and one of the writer's first scripts.
Set in one of the low-rent multicultural areas of North London, inhabited mostly by that volatile combination of Greeks and Turks, it is magical tale of wish-fulfillment and instant karma. The area is run by Mr Karva, a big, loud and brutal godfather-like man, played with mesmerising force by James Cosmo. He is a man who likes to have his own way and will go to any extreme to get it. Karva's stepson, Othello, has his own ambitions, as does his off-sider, the weak-willed Emilio. The story is initially recounted from the point of view of Roadrunner, an errand runner for Karva, who can't stand still, that is until one nigh when he stumbles over a lost child in the park, forever changing the lives of those who come in contact with him.
Nothing is ever explained about who the child is or where he came from. We only know he has some sort of mystical, desire-fulfilling power and that power only seems to work on one person at a time, which creates some great moments of tension and conflict. Young Sam MacLintock quietly underplays the child with equal parts of wide-eyed innocence and Damien-like menace.
Co-directed by photographer and Dazed and Confused publisher Rankin, and film and TV director Chris Cottam, it is a fairly pedestrian affair, lacking any real original or standout imagery to make the settings appear more magical, in line with the story. There are some powerful scenes, but most of it is fairly mundane, as is the acting, or at least in comparison to James Cosmo's larger-than-life performance. Or maybe that was the directors' intention, to make Karva an even more prominent character.
This is definitely one of the more interesting independent feature films to be made in London in recent years that doesn't rely on familiar landmarks to establish its setting. Let's hope we can see more original movies that make the most of the city's diversity, without relying on stereotypical, urban stories about the obvious crime, racism and social injustices we see in our everyday lives. William Blake saw angels in the trees of Peckham Rye, new filmmakers just need to find that magic. Lives of the Saints is certainly a step in the right direction.
Set in one of the low-rent multicultural areas of North London, inhabited mostly by that volatile combination of Greeks and Turks, it is magical tale of wish-fulfillment and instant karma. The area is run by Mr Karva, a big, loud and brutal godfather-like man, played with mesmerising force by James Cosmo. He is a man who likes to have his own way and will go to any extreme to get it. Karva's stepson, Othello, has his own ambitions, as does his off-sider, the weak-willed Emilio. The story is initially recounted from the point of view of Roadrunner, an errand runner for Karva, who can't stand still, that is until one nigh when he stumbles over a lost child in the park, forever changing the lives of those who come in contact with him.
Nothing is ever explained about who the child is or where he came from. We only know he has some sort of mystical, desire-fulfilling power and that power only seems to work on one person at a time, which creates some great moments of tension and conflict. Young Sam MacLintock quietly underplays the child with equal parts of wide-eyed innocence and Damien-like menace.
Co-directed by photographer and Dazed and Confused publisher Rankin, and film and TV director Chris Cottam, it is a fairly pedestrian affair, lacking any real original or standout imagery to make the settings appear more magical, in line with the story. There are some powerful scenes, but most of it is fairly mundane, as is the acting, or at least in comparison to James Cosmo's larger-than-life performance. Or maybe that was the directors' intention, to make Karva an even more prominent character.
This is definitely one of the more interesting independent feature films to be made in London in recent years that doesn't rely on familiar landmarks to establish its setting. Let's hope we can see more original movies that make the most of the city's diversity, without relying on stereotypical, urban stories about the obvious crime, racism and social injustices we see in our everyday lives. William Blake saw angels in the trees of Peckham Rye, new filmmakers just need to find that magic. Lives of the Saints is certainly a step in the right direction.
posted by Chris Patmore at 5:47 pm
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