The Complete Collection: Danny Boyle (Part 4)

To celebrate Danny Boyle directing the Opening Ceremony for London Olympics 2012, over the next couple of days, I will be charting the career of one of Britains top director...

So, following the success of 28 Days Later, this time Boyle didn't let it go to his head. He had no cast members that he would stick-with indefinately (though we would see Cillian Murphy again). No sell-out action-films (e.g. directing a sequel - though he played a role as producer of 28 Weeks Later he didn't direct and Alex Garland didn't write it). Instead, Boyle stayed small scale, stretching his talent further. He had tackled the drug-fuelled adrenaline and dance-scene in Trainspotting, he had tackled horror with 28 Days Later and he had even tried the Hollywood blockbuster with an A-List actor with . Next, he made a British Children's film rooted in Catholic Saints and with a strong moral centrepoint ...

Millions (2004)

With nine producers and executive producers (none of which were Andrew MacDonald), Boyle seemed to use most of his crew from 28 Days Later... with Anthony Dod Mantle, Chris Gill and John Murphy on board. Frank Cottrell Boyce wrote the script - a writer who denies the neccessity of structure in a script. Does it have to be three acts? Not really. And I wouldn't scoff at such modern thinking as he won an award at the British Independent Film Awards for Best Screenplay! Millions is the story about a young boy and his brother, who have lost their Mother. It is set within the context of the fictional-scenario of England joining the Euro and, amongst it all, a huge bag of money - at least £1million - is thrust into the two boys lives. John Murphy, with a great ear for sound, even used two tracks by Muse on the soundtrack. Certain skills were gained in Boyle's direction of the children and the start of the film - as the two kids run around their future house as it builds itself around them - is inspired and sets a fast-pace to film. A similar technique to the front-of-car credits in Shallow Grave and the 'Lust for Life' sequence at the start of Trainspotting.

Roger Ebert and Richard Roeper both claimed it as one of the best films of the year. Perhaps inevitably, the Christian-community supported the film - though there is always one who complained about the 'menace' and 'violence' in the film. Indeed, if you like Slumdog Millionnaire, you will love Millions. Vastly underrated, Millions is a must-watch that may even bring a tear to your eye ... because it did bring a tear to mine.

Sunshine (2007)

But alas, the big-budget nature of a blockbuster lured Boyle back - this time to a different genre: Science Fiction. Danny Boyle has stated that all directors inevitably 'do' their Sci-Fi film. Stanley Kubrick and 2001: A Space Odyssey comes to mind, Ridley Scott - now more known for his epics and action films - obviously has roots in Sci-Fi with Blade Runner and Alien. And now Prometheus. The two types boil down to the action-sci-fi, such as Star Wars and Star Trek. Then there are the 'serious' science-fiction that inevitably focuses on faith (tick Danny Boyle atribute number 1...) and humanity. These, more often than not include the 'machine' - Mother in Alien and HAL in 2001 -  and a 'signal'...

Alex Garland wrote the script, with a missing space craft already in orbit, another space craft - Icarus II - flys out to 'deliver the payload' and reignite the sun. A sun, which is dying. As Icarus II gets closer to the sun, it picks up a signal from the first space craft, Icarus. An outstanding film, with fascinating visuals - clear colour schemes in every sequence - the warmth of the 'sun' room, the cool blues and greens of the 'oxygen-creating' room. An outstanding cast in Michelle Yeah, Captain America in Chris Evans, Rose Byrne and star-of-The-Last-Samurai (no, not Tom Cruise) Hiroyuki Sanada. Cillian Murphy played the lead - the lucky charm of 28 Days Later... and, lo and behold, some great reviews but disapointing box-office returns. The budget was $40m but the gross revenue managed to gain only $32m. Personally, I have decided that in many of Boyle's film, there is always an exceptionally awkward moment whereby you feel a little uncomfortable and I have found that this is simply what Boyle wants you to feel. Examples of these moments would include the 'madness' of McGregor in Trainspotting seeing babies on the roof, whilst DiCaprio's madness is equally strange in The Beach. Sunshine switches from its sci-fi roots to a slasher movie in the final moment - Mark Strong playing the murderous Pinbacker (which, on the first watch, is jarring). It feels as if it doesn't make complete sense - though is Pinbacker real or a figment of their mind? should it make sense? Indeed, does faith make sense? Sunshine is one of Boyle's finest efforts - add to this John Murphys collaboration with Underworld (musicians behind Trainspotting's 'Born Slippy', the soundtrack on Sunshine was even used on Kick-Ass) on the soundtrack, and you have a fascinating work of art.

This post was originally released on 16th July 2010, but has been adapted to cover his recent film releases and provide a 'Part 5', to an originally only 4-part series.

The Film Locker #9: Danny Boyle and 'Trainspotting'

I couldn't have M. Night Shyamalan - maybe next time? - so we set upon ripping apart Danny Boyle. I am a self-confessed fan. Fans of 'The Simon and Jo Film Show' may even recall a moment whereby I even approached him and he said to me "hello!". Unforgettable. And that was pre-127 Hours so, you could argue, I met him 'at his peak'.

Of course, it was inevitable (the only director Hatter and I broke our silence about prior to the episode) - and believe me, there will be much more reading material on The Film Locker blog (www.filmlocker.blogspot.com) itself. This will include, in depth analysis of Sunshine, Trainspotting and a review of 127 Hours. There will be some extensive back-catalogue reflection too.

This is the week to know your Danny Boyle.

All together now:

"Oh Danny Boyle, the pipes, the pipes are calling ... From glen to glen, and down the mountain side ... The 'Sunshine' is gone, and all the flowers are dying ... 'Tis you, 'tis you must go and I must bide ... But come ye back when summer's in the meadow ... Or when the valley's hushed and white with snow ... 'Tis I'll be here in sunshine or in shadow ... Oh Danny Boyle, oh Danny Boyle, I love you so..."

And, as usual, it is already on itunes and can be found easily on podomatic - so, please do try and write reviews and support us if you can! We have the ol' RSS feed and 2.0 RSS and, if you link in different ways, we also have it on Google and Yahoo

Incredible Soundtrack #15: Sunshine (Murphy/Underworld)

The music attached to a film creates the environment, I believe, moreso than the literal environment depicted through the visuals...

I have been looking forward to mentioning this soundtrack. As soon as I watched the film, I was desperate to hunt down the soundtrack. But it isn't easy to find. For one, you cannot buy it on CD -  it is only available via download. Obviously there are ilegal means to get the soundtrack but, officially, you can only download it through itunes. I went to alot of effort to hunt it down and, in the process, purchased the Underworld album Oblivion with Bells. A brilliant album, that holds one track from the film: To Heal. When I first purchased my ipod, I swore I would not download too much - swearing by the tangible nature of a CD case, sleeve notes and everything else. When your PC blows-up, at least you have the CD. This soundtrack made me crack and download my first album from itunes. Bastards.

3. Capa's Last Transmission/To Heal by Underworld - Incredible track: calming, peaceful and all-encompassing. And available on a CD.



6. Kanada's Death, Pt. 2 (Adagio In D Minor) by John Murphy - This track has been used so much outside of Sunshine. I always find it a little frustrating because I associate this song with Sunshine - and not, say, Kick-Ass. A great song.



19. Peggy Sussed by Underworld - This is completely more Underworld rather than John Murphy. Its powerful and bold. I won't forget feeling this song hit you in the face when the film ended on such a calm note.

Sunshine (Danny Boyle, 2007)

Introduction

As you are no doubt aware, from reading the 'A Life Less Ordinary' review, that I am a huge Danny Boyle fan and 'Sunshine' I have watched many times. I pretty much love everything about it and, for one, as soon as I get a HD-TV (a way off yet ... god damn overdraft), I feel that 'Sunshine' will be one of the first purchases. It looked stunning on a cinema screen and, no doubt, it will look stunning on HD. One thing I do love about Danny Boyle films is the little touches of spirituality explored and - according to Danny Boyle - the exploration of spirituality in a serious Sci-Fi movie is a must ...

Quick-Synopsis

Bear in mind, I am being brief and a little cynical in this synopsis, so I only advise you to watch the film and see how words cannot actually describe the brilliance of this movie so why bother explain it clearly when you should just watch it ...

We wake up on Icarus II a spaceship that has a job to do - shoot a nuclear bomb into the sun sun, thus reigniting it. This has been tried before, on Icarus I, but alas, their mission failed and no-one knows why. The crew are a diverse mix of professionals - amongst them Searle (Cliff Curtis) an on-board psychiatrist of the ship, Mace (Chris Evans), the macho-military engineer and, the lead guy, Capa (Cillian Murphy) a calm physicist who operates the 'payload'. There are many others on the ship: Kaneda, Cassie, Corazon, Trey and Harvey but that is all. The first act establishes all these factors until - oh, my, god - we hear a signal from Icarus I, breaking the equilibrium. It is unlikely that anyone is still alive, but is it worth going to the ship and having two 'payloads'? Doubling the chances of survival of the earth? Capa is given the choice and he decides 'yes' so off they go to Icarus I. They get to the ship with minor problems (well ... maybe not minor ... but ... ) and, once on board, they see that someone went mad and killed everyone. The ships captain Pinbacker (Mark Strong) who left a Kurtz-like message about God and failing missions. But he's dead so don't worry about it (well, he is burned from head-to-toe anyway). Then 'someone' separates the two ships from each other and a few lives are lost when they cross back to the original Icarus II. To finish Pinbacker turns out to be alive and well and sets off trying to kill everyone on board Icarus II and, after a lot of sharp razor-blade fighting, Capa manages to shoot his load (ho ho ho!) and Earth is saved.

What I reckon...

I make small cards every time I watch films and, for some silly - possibly pretentious reason - my first two 'lines' on this film were: "Ashes to ashes" - Sun, that is full of fire, "dust to dust" - Death and human skin. I don't know exactly what that means or where it came from. It just is what is, and I thought I'd share it with you.

One thing which is clear, is the appreciation of the beauty of nature, and how this links to a possible spiritual awareness. The Buddha-like pose of Corazon as she holds a part of nature is one such example, while the music itself from John Murphy and Underworld (Why, for godssaake, is the soundtrack only available for download!!!) is almost transcendent. But maybe, the almost-obsession with beauty makes people feel closer to God? The spiritual focus is primarily on Fundamentalism rather than glorification: Searle begging Kaneda 'What do you see?' as Kaneda, close to death, looks into the the light is the curiosity of God, opposed to the reality of His existence, while Capa - caught between the science and nature during the finale shows the awe of His creation. It all feels a little preachy, but I think this is part of the focus. Pinbacker on the other hand is Bin-Laden. He is the distorted - both physically by burns and visually by Boyle - version of a human, twisted and corrupted. Pinbacker himself breaks a certain element of realism that was established before his arrival, clarifying his strange existence - as I am sure we can all agree that the Taliban would be better off just not being here. One interesting point Danny Boyle raises in the commentary track for the film is that Searle is the complete opposite of Pinbacker in terms of faith - where Searle is willing to die for his faith, and indeed he does, Pinbacker will sacrifice everyone else for his faith. Pinbacker emerges from light when Capa first sees him and creates darkness in the ship with his distorted view - and that final act of the film with Pinbacker shifts the entire film into this fast paced, horror movie a credit to regular-Danny Boyle collaborator editor Chris Gill.

One thing that I found fascinating was the use of colour and the choice of colours to show the bleakness of inside the ship, while outside has so much colour and beauty you cannot help, akin to Searle, but be in complete awe of the sun and all its majesty - so a clap to cinematographer Alwin Kuchler for this! The overall tone of the film is influenced by 'Alien', '2001:A Space Odyssey' and Tarkovsky's 'Solaris' ('Solaris' being the only one I haven't seen...) and this is what makes it look so good - if you use such magnificent films to influence your work, then you can't go too far wrong. Might not be unique, but its how art progresses - art and influence.

Personally, films with a spiritual or destiny theme always intrigue me and I think this is why I lover this film so much! Why are we here? How can free-will and pre-destined fate exist together? How valuable is human life? These are big questions and Alex Garland regularly raises these topics.

One interesting note Danny Boyle made on the commentary: "Three Sci-Fi elements when you do serious science-fiction film: Ship, crew and signal (that changes everything)"