Welcome to ‘The Director’s Cut’ a space where I take a look at some of the career defining films by some of our favourite directors. Championed by critics or loved by the masses, every director has their own unique style that gets audiences talking. With this blog I’ll be breaking down 3 of their most influential films and their impact on the wider world of cinema.
Danny Boyle is one of Britain’s most influential and
recognisable unique artistic voices, a director who I still feel is very much
underrated and largely misunderstood. Boyle debuted with Shallow Grave
(1994), a film with great promise, a gritty storyline, and an overwhelming
sense of authentic ‘Britishness’ that made people take notice of his work
immediately. Danny has made more than 10 feature films since Shallow Grave,
some loved, some criticised, yet always original.
Trainspotting (1997)
It’s pretty alarming how many times I’ve watched the deeply
tragic, yet euphoric experience that is Trainspotting. I use the word
‘experience’ because it is so much more than just a movie, a full-bodied event
of iconic status with a soundtrack and cinematic personality that stands alone
in history. The true lift off for Danny Boyle’s career in cinema, a stylish
look at the degenerate side of Edinburgh through the eyes of Mark Renton (Ewan
McGregor) as his addiction to heroin starts to affect his bond with family and
friends. As Mark decides he wants to make a change in his life, it’s his
equally flawed friends that provide the challenges as he tries to escape from
the devastating claws of drug addiction. Narcissist Sick Boy (Jonny Lee
Miller), psychopath Begbie (Robert Carlyle), good intentioned Tommy (Kevin
Mckidd), naïve Spud (Ewen Bremner), and Mark’s underage love interest Diane
(Kelly Macdonald) form the main cast in what is a turbulent existence for a
group of young people who turn to addiction in an attempt to numb the harsh
realities of life in a world that provides no inspiration.
The use of a dysfunctional group of damaged, yet fascinating characters proved to be a masterstroke by Danny Boyle as you can’t help but feel drawn in by their imperfections. So many times, Trainspotting has been dismissively labelled as a film that glorifies drug use, an assumption that is way off the mark for me. There’s no doubt that Trainspotting highlights drug use in a very stylish and ‘fun’ way because it does tend to be that way at first. But expertly, Danny doesn’t shy away from the devastating effects of reckless drug abuse, not only on the people using drugs, but the people that depend on them. One of the most notable consequences being Tommy’s rapid decline after being sucked into the world of heroin. As he loses sight of his beliefs he pays the ultimate price, contracting HIV and subsequently AIDS, Tommy was one of the unlucky ones, unlike Renton. Boyle doesn’t glorify drug use; he gets it just right.
Upon the release of Trainspotting in 1996 there was a
serious buzz around Danny Boyle and the cinematic world he had created here.
Featuring some of the most inventive music, cinematography, and cast choices, it was clear that Trainspotting had a style like no other. It almost
created a buzz that surpassed the actual brilliance of the film, something that
has caused people to hide their support for what is one of the UK’s most recognisable
and charismatic films. No matter how gritty these characters may have seemed,
there is something so insightful and gripping about British society running
through the heart of Trainspotting. A chilling indictment of our culture, told in the
most stylish way imaginable.
I’ve spoken about the themes and feel of Trainspotting, but it would be criminal of me to not at least talk
about the genius of this film’s cast. With Ewan McGregor’s frustrating, yet
somehow charming portrayal of Renton or even Robert Carlyle’s terrifying,
uncompromising representation of Begbie. The cast doesn’t just excel on one
note, or even as individual performances. It excels on a completely collective
level, a cast perfectly in tune with the film’s overall message, and one
another. A truly unforgettable beginning for Danny Boyle, a film that holds up
just as much now as it did in 1996.
The Beach (2000)
Paradise always has its price. The
film that caused a feud between Danny Boyle and Ewan McGregor for over a
decade, it is of course The Beach. High from the resounding success of Titanic
(1997) a fresh-faced Leonardo DiCaprio takes on the role of Richard, an
impressionable free spirit in search of a mysterious island of tranquillity
surely too good to be true. I was really keen to talk about The Beach in this
introspection of Danny Boyle's career as it was undeniably one of Boyle’s more
understated movies, but still a film with an unbelievable amount of Danny Boyle
reverence and charm that has the ability to grip you from shot one, to the
last. The film explores the presence of societal norms that appear even in the
most abnormal of environments. As Richard and his two acquaintances (Guillaume
Canet & Virginie Ledoyen) arrive on the secluded and idyllic island they
are surprised to find a fellow group of free spirits already residing at. It
therefore doesn’t take Richard long to realise that the same social troubles in the outside world are well and truly present here too, with a lot of it thanks to the autocratic direction
of the group’s leader – Sal (Tilda Swinton). All of the evils Richard was
trying to escape in the world are slowly appearing in this new paradise.
When I revisited this film, I was shocked to see it rated at a mediocre 6.6 on IMDB. This is by no means bad, but I can’t help but feel that the charm of this film is being missed. Granted, the video game scene is odd to say the least, but the dreamlike escapism you feel when watching The Beach is truly remarkable. Danny Boyle oversees a colourful and vibrant soundtrack that works together to create a tainted paradise, it is a genuinely unique movie experience. They simply don’t make these kind of films anymore, the kind of film only Danny Boyle could make.
It has always been clear to me that The Beach was an easy
target for the critics to attack. A young director, moving on from a critical
and box office success in Trainspotting, the bar was pretty high for
Danny Boyle to reach the same heights, and this isn’t me trying to say that The
Beach is on the same level as Trainspotting, it simply deserves it’s
due as an interesting premise in it's own right. The Scenery is stunning, the cast is fun, led by Leo DiCaprio in what can only be
considered an unorthodox role for him, and of course a screenplay by John Hodge
that can only be considered ‘thought-provoking’. By no means is The Beach a
timeless classic, but it is undoubtedly an important film for Danny Boyle's catalogue.
28 Days
Later (2002)
I was toying with the idea of discussing Danny Boyle’s
breath-taking rags to riches story Slumdog Millionaire, but ultimately,
I had to explore arguably Danny’s most influential film – 28 Days Later.
Proving to be the Inspiration for a whole host of subsequent British horror
movies, this is a film that has so much character, culture and British
fortitude from the first shot, to the last. Danny Boyle has a true
talent for presenting the most bizarre and extreme versions of British society,
exploring the good, and the bad with an equal amount of importance. As Jim
(Cillian Murphy) awakes from a coma to a deserted London, he has no idea of the
chaos that awaits him as he soon understands that the UK has become overrun by
the devastating rage virus. With zombie
like characteristics, London is no longer a place for the living. Jim has to
quickly gain his composure and seek out a few unlikely allies as London rapidly
succumbs to a plague of new magnitude.
This was by no means Cillian Murphy’s first success in the movie world, but it certainly proved to be a breakout role for the Irishman, and this success was only amplified by Naomie Harris’s strong portrayal of Selena. A strong-willed performance ahead of it’s time as Naomie appears as someone using their innate abilities for survival in such an extraordinary environment. Jim finds strength as he slowly makes sense of the situation, but it is Selena who is the true driving force of the group, along with Frank (Brendan Gleeson) as the respectable, good willed sidekick destined for a gloomy demise. As I touched on briefly in the beginning, it has all of the usual ingredients that make a Danny Boyle movie tick, but it is the unique relatability to British culture that makes 28 Days Later a timeless classic.
One of the reasons why I believe this to be Danny’s most influential picture is the simple fact that it isn’t just a standard ‘zombie’ film. Despite the fact that the rage victims appear to be the main antagonists, Danny Boyle is smart enough to always have a twist up his sleeve, and in this story, it is humanity once again that proves to be the real enemy. In all walks of life, there is good and there is evil, and history has taught us that sometimes, the evil lies in some of the most unexpected corners. In the final act of the film, the army barracks that initially provided a sanctuary place for our survivors soon becomes the embodiment of hell as the Army officers under the leadership of Major Henry West (Christopher Eccleston) turn on the group, enslaving the women and forcing Jim into yet another life-or-death situation. This finale is the perfect example of Danny Boyle’s creativity. Once again in a story that could so easily be one note, it offers so much more.
Danny Boyle doesn’t make films to please production companies, and in truth he’s not everyone’s cup of tea, but his originality, craft and recognisable charm leave him as one of the UK’s most important filmmakers of the last 30 years. Who knows what kind of legacy he has created for future filmmakers to come? Only time will tell.
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