Treacle Jr.

No one does slice-of-life drama and acerbic humor like the Brits, and the curiously named Treacle Jr. showcases this, as well as some damned good acting from the cast, particularly Aidan Gillen (Queer As Folk, Game Of Thrones) as Aidan. (It seems kind of cheap when the screenwriters can't come up with their own names; does anyone agree?)

    Treacle Jr., as it so happens, is a kitten, Aidan is a childlike man in an unhealthy relationship, and Tom (Tom Fisher) steps quite by accident into the situation, in the process of getting out of another. Unable to bear for another minute the responsibilities of parenthood and family life, Tom (Fisher) walks out on his wife and baby and, after running out of cash, seeks a new means of livelihood on the streets of London.

    Inexplicably, he is attacked and injured by a gang of thugs, and while at the police station, he meets Aidan, who is comparing the woman at the front desk's hair to an Irish Setter's in an attempt at flirtation.

    Aidan's the kind of guy most people stay away from. He's earnest, hyper, and completely free of any social graces. Aidan's naive and enthusiastic to a fault, but Tom soon discovers he has problems too, namely Linda (Riann Steele), his "girlfriend," a volatile bag of nuts who beats on Aidan, dubs him a "retard," and in one painful scene, tries to rape him.

   She's a barrel of laughs. People who find this situation unlikely need only think again. What does society think of men who hit women? If Aidan were to so much as take a swing at Linda in self-defense, she'd need only pull a pouty face to the police and Aidan would be sent up to the big house. Maybe it's a bit of an exaggeration, but it's something to think about.

    The story chronicles the meeting and eventual friendship between the two men, despite Tom's initial urgent attempts to get away from Aidan, who has the boundless enthusiasm of a horny beagle. Now Aidan, he's an interesting character. Devoid of the marketability of endearing innocents like Forrest Gump, he is good-hearted but entirely oblivious to his effect on people. He was not written to be liked. I liked him.

   If this was to be remade in America, there would be some adjustments made. Linda's race would be changed, the gender roles would be switched, and the movie would become a feminist power flick. But it will not be remade because it was not highly successful, and it's a good thing, too. Treacle Jr. intrigues and challenges, doing what British films do best.

 

Memento

   Nowadays Christopher Nolan is known and highly respected for the overrated Inception and highly popular Batman re-imaginings. Back in 2000 he made a lesser-known film called Memento, which actually outshines some of his recent work.

    Memento, which was his second full-length feature, was based on a short story called "Memento Mori" by his brother, Jonathan Nolan. Leonard Shelby (Guy Pearce) is revealed as an unreliable narrator, and you have to take what he says a face value. Hit on the head during an attack on him and his wife, Leonard has no short term memory.

    It's not amnesia, he explains, but he probably won't remember their conversation in a few minute's time. Actually, it's a specific kind of amnesia, called anterograde amnesia. Although it can be implausible at times, Memento is no cheap soap opera, nor a cheap exploitation of it's subject matter. Leonard cannot remember anything that occurs after the accident. In order to create "new" memories, he writes notes or tattoos details on his skin.

 On his hand is printed "remember Sammy Jankis," and a sideplot reveals the sad story of an older man with his condition. Leonard's mission is to find and kill the men who raped his wife and caused his head injury. He is helped by a suspicious, flippant cop named Teddy (Joe Pantoliano) and Natalie (Carrie-Anne Moss), a manipulative she-bitch whose drug dealer boyfriend is recently missing.

    He finds neither of them totally trustworthy and must rely on himself to find the perpetrators. But can he? The film is cleverly structured and told in reverse, so that you gradually move on to the earlier events in the story. Guy Pearce, a slightly more inconspicuous actor, was picked by Nolan over superstars like Brad Pitt. He does a good job, showing Leonard's confusion and resolve, although he is not as compelling as Ralph Fiennes in David Cronenberg's similarly mind-bending thriller Spider.

    Memento, in it's darkness and ambiguity, can easily pass as film noir. Another noir-ish element is the dark developments of its characters. Even Leonard's beloved wife is revealed to not be all she seems. Although one of Nolan's earlier works and not a cinema-packer like The Dark Knight, Memento deserves a wide viewership and stands as a capable thriller with an outstanding twist.