It's hot here in Britain, and here in Wales it's about to get even hotter. That, and the fact that I'm working like a somewhat laboured lunatic on my article makes everything rather strange, sweaty and tense. But it could be worse. Let's talk about a movie. That movie was going to be 'Sneakers', one of my all-time favourite movies, but then I realised I didn't want to spoil it by spelling out it's more egregious flaws so instead it shall be 'Ladyhawke'. 'Ladyhawke' too has flaws but has become beloved far more recently.
This is a movie that has to be put in context a little. Its director Richard Donner and one of the writers Tom Mankiewicz essentially created 'Superman: The Movie' and most of its sequel before power plays forced them out and 'Superman II' to be finished in a somewhat hacky fashion. To be honest, to this day I'm not convinced that the dodgy tacked on ending to 'Superman: The Movie' is entirely their fault either. After spending years of his life on Superman, Donner pulled off a number of smaller movies (everything is smaller in comparison) and this is my favourite.
'Ladyhawke' is somewhat of a fable, a fairy tale made in the modern age, and is delightfully silly at many points while still being painfully heartbreaking at others. It has its flaws and it has its strengths, as do many films. As do all things in fact. In plot, a couple are cursed by a vengeful Bishop who has made a pact with dark forces. By day she becomes a hawk, and at night he a wolf. They will forever be together, but always apart except for perhaps a few brief moments at sunrise and sunset. With the help of a thief called 'The Mouse' and a dusty old monk who betrayed a confidence years before, can the curse be broken or will circumstances render it inviolate forever more?
It's hardly a surprise to learn the curse is broken at the end. I hope not at least. This movie has a very strange tone: It is by parts funny and dramatic in plot and contains some exciting and impressive battle scenes. The special effects available ruled out complex shapeshifting but in a sense the compromise we get is far more effective; Isabeau and Navarre's altering of forms are not the reason to see the movie, as it's the story that's important. Special effects often get in the way, so it's better to do what we see here and have it be quick and out of the way. If I had to pick one best reason to watch 'Ladyhawke' it would be Rutger Hauer's performance and one best reason to be critical it would be the score. The score is very strange, a synth 80s pop score over a medieval fantasy. It does kind of work once you get used to it, but is that a good thing to say about any score? Hauer is excellent in his only benevolent leading role that I'm aware of. There's one sequence of anguish that is heart-rending and a few moments of pixie-ish humour in the other direction to make him a well-rounded character, as well as much in the middle. His Navarre is a being of some mixed emotions. Everyone else operates solidly. Michelle Pfeiffer and Matthew Broderick both do well without burning down the house and John Wood is suitably creepy as the evil clergyman. It's Hauer's show, although theoretically Broderick is the lead character as The Mouse.
I should really say again that it is an odd film, an acquired taste to be sure. The music initially confuses the intended effect, and the transitions from light-heartedness to seriousness are jerky in places but the ending is so brutal in both execution and joyful in the narrative conclusion that it makes up for everything, even the utterly daft reluctance of Navarre to believe the monk's plan for ending the curse, which reluctance does somewhat artificially raise the tension of the film. We forgive it all at film's end. The dialogue is witty, maybe even too witty at times, but it does serve to make the film distinct from some of the other woefully grim fantasies that have graced the silver screen. I like it. It may be the only fantasy film I like.
It's a witty film, with an original (!) story and a strong ending, and it's a one-off. If you can get over the music and don't mind fairy tales then it's for you. And then you should go watch 'Superman: The Movie' and the Richard Donner cut of 'Superman II' if you liked 'Ladyhawke'.
O.
No comments:
Post a Comment