'Welcome to Collinwood': Devon times (continued)...

Although most of my time in Devon has been spent being driven down identical narrow roads or sitting on beaches (or waiting for my nan outside the Newquay branch of Peacocks), I have managed to see two films on DVD. The first was 'The Men Who Stare at Goats' on Friday night, which I judged to be passable if ultimately disposable fare. However, less amusing (and also featuring George Clooney) was last nights viewing: 'Welcome to Collinwood'. A film not even saved by the presence of Sam Rockwell.

In many ways 'Collinwood' is almost a remake of Woody Allen's 'Small Time Crooks' from two years prior (apparently itself a loose remake of the 1958 film 'Big Deal on Madonna Street'). As in 'Small Time Crooks' a group of ineffectual would-be criminals gather for one big heist that involves using one vacant property to break into another. They share gags too: in both films breaking through the wall leads to accidentally hitting a water pipe. As if to acknowledge these apparent similarities the film's end credits are in the Allen style (you'd know it if you saw it) and the incidental music (by Mark Mothersbaugh) is also a familiar easy going jazz.



This is all well and good. After all, if you're going to steal etc. The problem is not that it's shamelessly derivative, but that most of the humour involves pratfalls and physical business. The thing with that sort of humour is that no everyone can pull it off. You have to a skilled physical comedian to really make falling over funny. Tragically none of the actors here (in an ensemble cast that also includes William H. Macy, Luis Guzman and Michael Jeter) have it in them and the various scenes of peoples pants falling down do not register as much as a smile. I speak, of course, for myself. My nan was in fits of laughter every time somebody fell off a ladder or fell into some water, so what do I know?

Often the film changes gear and strains for poignancy which it characteristically fails at badly. It also tries to develop its own lingo ('mullinsky' and 'bellini' for example) which never takes off and halfway through the film seems to have been abandoned altogether. Writer/directors the Russo brothers (who also directed the 2006 comedy 'You, Me and Dupree') try for something timeless and distinctive here and have good intentions. The film is never nasty, always good-natured and events take place in a spirit of fun. However, no amount of wanting to enjoy this film is enough to actually make you actually enjoy it. Alongside this 'The Men Who Stare at Goats' looks less average (at least there you have the cinematography of Robert Elswit to keep you watching that film). Anyway, there is my two cents. Back into the sun.

"Sam Rockwell? What's he been in?"

For years I have been waxing lyrical about the acting talent of Mr. Sam Rockwell, the Californian actor who was most recently seen in 'Iron Man 2'. But often when I tell people about how good he is I am struck by the fact that they don't have a clue who I am talking about. He's been in plenty of films, but when I come to explaining where people may have seen him I end up drawing a blank as despite his long and varied filmography he has not really been in many things you can guarantee people will have seen.

So here are five clips which act as a celebration of his range and talent and represent your guide to the essential Sam Rockwell:

One of my favourite films of last year, 'Moon' (directed by Duncan Jones), stars Rockwell as a man who works (in complete isolation) on the earth's moon. In this interesting piece of low-budget, British science fiction Rockwell is called upon to completely carry the movie and hold the audiences attention. I have chosen a clip which gives nothing away, but in doing so I can't really show you any of the most poignant or humourous moments. Anyway, here is Rockwell in 'Moon':


In 2001, he appeared opposite Gene Hackman in David Mamet's superior thriller 'Heist'. He more than holds his own in this dialogue heavy Mamet film and would steal the show if it weren't for Hackman. Here is a short (but funny) clip:


Probably my favourite scene from the brilliant 2007 Western 'The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford' (directed by Andrew Dominik) sees three really good actors sharing a tense scene. The main business here concerns Brad Pitt and Casey Affleck, but Sam Rockwell is really good too, giving the scene a real nervous tension and an anxiety as he finds himself trapped between two increasingly insane characters. He brings so much to a role which may otherwise have blended into the background:


Probably the most overlooked Charlie Kaufman screenplay (and disowned by the writer himself who disliked director George Clooney's take on the material) 'Confessions of a Dangerous Mind' (2002) starred Sam Rockwell as Chuck Barris, a gameshow host (indeed the real life creator of 'Blind Date' and 'The Gong Show') turned covert CIA agent. Here he is given the opportunity to be funny, insane, charismatic and dangerous in equal measure:


Whilst he is often called upon to be comic (broadly so in the likes of 'Galaxy Quest', 'The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy' and 'Gentlemen Broncos'), he is sometimes given intense and purely dramatic roles, such as his turn in Ron Howard's 2008 film 'Frost/Nixon'. Here he is the morally indignant journalist who pressures David Frost into using his Nixon interview as a trial for the disgraced leader:

'Frost Nixon' Difficult Questions en Yahoo! Video

Of course, as I mentioned in the review, I really enjoyed him in 'Iron Man 2', which you can still see in cinemas. I highly recommend checking out any of the above also ('Frost/Nixon' is deeply floored, but still a decent film and the others are just great). His next "big" role is in another Jon Favreau directed comic book adaptation 'Cowboys & Aliens' - a film produced by Steven Speilberg and Ron Howard and co-starring Daniel Craig and Harrison Ford. A more low-key role will see him opposite Hilary Swank and Minnie Driver in the upcoming drama 'Betty Anne Walters'. Rockwell will ensure I go to see both of them!