Incendiary

This is going to be a slightly confused review. I make no apologies for that as 'Incendiary' is a confusing, and somewhat confounding film. I both liked it - and hated it. What I particularly disliked was the sinking feeling that it was trying to be too many things at once, giving itself no time or space to develop any facet fully. I don't like to pigeon-hole films necessarily, but this one really couldn't make up its mind whether it was a thriller, a political critique, social commentary, disaster movie or a kitchen-sink melodrama. It desperately wanted to be all these things and more.



And it wasn't just the confused narrative I hated. Though it may be a controversial thought, I have yet to see a film featuring Ewan McGregor where he is in any way convincing. He is amongst the most two dimensional, wooden actors of our age leaving many substantially more talented performers perplexed as to his appeal. In this film, his performance is no exception. Vapid, two dimensional and entirely unconvincing.

So what DID I like about the film? Well, Michelle Williams really. Though her London accent may have been a bit Dick Van Dyke to start with (she's American after all), once you set that aside you'd have to concede that her performance in this film was really top notch. A really brilliant young actress delivering a truly brilliant performance. Whether you feel that this is enough to warrant getting hold of this DVD is a matter of opinion but for my part, I would suggest it is.



The fact that Michelle Williams was Heath Ledger's partner for three years and the mother of their daughter, who was presumably filming 'The Dark Knight' at around the same time, suggests that these must have been dark days indeed for the couple, despite their split. Whatever else 'Incendiary' may be, or would like to be, it sure ain't a barrel of laughs, unlike Director Sharon Maguire's previous success, 'Bridget Jones Diary'.



Based on a recent novel by Chris Cleave, 'Incendiary' starts with a young mum (who remains un-named and is played by Williams) playing with her child. She lives in a council block somewhere in North London, overlooking some trendy Georgian houses, one of which is occupied by Jasper Black, a wealthy and successful Daily Express journalist. The young mum's husband is in the Army, and is a London-based bomb disposal expert whose nerves are so shattered that he has become dysfunctional - living for his religion, Arsenal Football Club.



The fact that he works alongside Britain's chief anti-terrorist expert and yet still lives in one of London's worst and most 'Chavvy' council tower blocks is never explained, but then neither is much else. The film is full of unlikely coincidences and irritating inaccuracies.



One day, when her husband has taken the son to an Arsenal match, the young mum takes Jasper (who she met in a pub and had sex with previously) back to her flat for sex. As they make love, the TV is showing the Arsenal game live and the match is interrupted by a devastating explosion. Over 1000 spectators are killed, including the son she loves so deeply.



The remainder of the film seems to be a psych-drama showing the young mum dealing with her grief, but it's also set against an unlikely back drop of Ewan McGregor figuring out who the terrorist was, the mum meeting the terrorist's wife and befriending his son (well in advance of the security services figuring any of this out) and being chased by the Chief of Security, who it emerges knew more about the impending threat than he cares to admit.



Somehow, between these two vacuous men, she becomes pregnant and the film ends with a diatribe about love conquering all which is addressed directly to Mr. Osama Bin Laden. Oh - and I forgot the shooting of an innocent man running through a station (well, almost). It all feels like it's trying too hard.

Some of the effects are impressive. Though a Channel 4 Film, this doesn't feel like a low budget outing. Some of the CGI (such as London festooned with Zeppelin balloons featuring faces of the lost) look a bit suspect but technically, this is a very sound movie.
The cinematography is excellent too. The composition and general look and feel of the movie is really nice, as evident when taking random still frames. No matter where you pause the action, this film looks great. The colouring and grading really add to this with some lovely filmic sequences and imaginative shooting and editing. Maguire knows her craft - but this cannot save this overly optimistic attempt at harnessing this overblown plot.



I haven't read the book so maybe it works across a longer time-frame, but on the strength of this film I suspect it's a stinker. I don't know who penned the dialogue but some of it is really diabolical. When delivered by the wooden McGregor it really creaks - and yet Williams manages to make much of a little.

The transfer here is, as you would expect for a recent feature, first class. The audio is a full and satisfying sound-scape too. There is a particularly nice piano refrain (like a gentle Erik Satie piece) used during some of the film's more reflective moments that really works in creating the right emotional landscape for Williams.



The extras are actually quite good here. Rather than lots of making of pieces and bloopers and audio commentaries, most of which bore me rigid, there are a series of interviews with cast and crew. These are pretty generous too. The interview with writer Chris Cleave, for example, is over twenty minutes. Maguire majors on the inner conversations that William's character has with Osama Bin Laden - though these don't seem particularly significant in the film. Ewan McGregor's interview is slightly irksome as he adds the word 'kinda' in -between most other words. When he starts his interview with some 'I kinda think it's important that we kinda keep tings edgy and kinda gritty, especially in kinda British movies...etc' I could bear it no longer and found myself reaching for the remote for the first time in an otherwise interesting collection of interviews. Michelle Williams looked peculiarly distraught throughout hers - almost teary which gave her contribution a melancholy feel.



So in conclusion, what more can I say? A duff film with a completely mesmerising performance by its leading lady. Worth a rent certainly and if you find yourself as bewitched by Williams as I was, you may end up buying it on the strength of that alone.