Pure(itanical) Horror - The VVitch

Witches have always been the source of myriad emotions - and that in this, our enlightened age, the 21st century. 'The Witch' (stylized as The VVitch) is more of a fable - almost a surreal catechism. It is not, of course, something that judders your bones and causes you to jump out of your seat. Rather, the atmosphere puts us back in the New England of the Puritans. Would you question God and if you do, well you have pledged your allegiance to the devil is the circumstance in which we find ourselves.

Robert Eggers remarks that the film was made to be a Puritans nightmare, something directly out of the mind of a 17th century New England-er. And such a nightmare, given its time would have to be purely inherited. We are treated to how this nightmare is inherited as well, with a father-son sequence that isn't about bees and bird but more about how humans are born and bred in sin and redemption is a distant dream. Never are we allowed to distance ourselves from the fact that the family who's life we are deposited into do not exactly have a happy life of living off their produce. William, the head of the family,banished from the plantation where he lived and farmed with his then pregnant wife, sons and daughters builds a modest farm at the edge of the woods. The rest of the story is designed to be and works as a beautiful bed time horror story.

Before we get to the actors, I would be remiss if I did not mention that Robert Eggers is first and foremost a production designer, someone who and I quote 'if I got asked for dirty green curtains, I gave them the best dirty green curtains they'd get'. The proof of course is the clawing natural light photography, faithful production design, costumes and imagery. His sense of design extends and is shared by his team in researching New England Puritan history and most of the dialogue and helps in the time travel we are subject to. Cinematographer Jarin Blaschke and composer Mark Korven lend beautifully atmospheric imagery and background score so much so that at a certain point in the tension, silence has already etched a melody in our minds.

The cast in the meanwhile almost seem as committed to the movie as the Vatican was to killing off women of wisdom in the middle ages. Ralph Ineson, Anya Taylor-Joy, Kate Dickie, Harvey Scrimshaw, Ellie Grainger and Lucas Dawson comprise the entire cast save a couple of supporting actors. Not only does keeping a small circle of actors the main cast pay off in terms of keeping us engrossed to their fate, it also shows us the darkness that descends on them. The actors are almost fiercely committed to the movie, mouthing their 'thou''s and 'thy''s with such casual conviction that we are sucked into the soul of their plight. Anya and Kate Dickie in particular and it should come as no surprise are brilliant in their characters.

Without going into too many details, 'The VVitch' if it were necessary to be described in comparison would be in the same coven as 'The Shining'. Moody, atmospheric, generative and degenerative, the images flicker across the retinas like out of a crystal ball that has told you the future, murky and realistic at the same time. When a cold dreary sky is offset by a thick brownish grey wood, when the wind blows across a reinforced barn roof and howls down the chimney, when the rising full moon is blurred by the cast of a shadowy fear - 'The Witch' wins you over in the chills it sends down your spine. It is not be missed as a classic concocted in genius fashion in the masterful hands of Robert Eggers, Jarin Blaschke and Mark Korven.

Star Wars : The Force Awakens - a tick in every box

Not that that is ever a bad thing - a tick in every box. But sometimes the fastidiousness of the ticking does make us not want to relish a movie as much as we otherwise would. George Lucas opened the minds of the 70's to adventure that wasn't strict science fiction - it bundled romance, villainy, hope and the idea of an all encompassing 'force' that just stuck with audiences and would not let go. So much so that when he made his average prequels (don't have too much to complain about 'Revenge of the Sith'), a movie commentator observed that the movie does not even need to be watched for it to turn a profit, such was its success as a franchise. But we digress - post his 4 billion USD landfall profit from his sale of this lucrative franchise to Disney, George moved away from the creative cockpit. The world has waited with bated breath over the past three years to see what J.J.Abrams can bring to the cantina table and the verdict is - he does not disappoint.

Episode VII - The Force Awakens is everything that a moviegoer would want from a blockbuster - the return of characters beloved to fans, the continuance of a superb music score (more on that in the following paragraphs), a story that springs surprises and leaves us euphoric with a pace that sags in the middle but otherwise punches through to light-speed more often than not. At the same time, it would be remiss of anyone who has followed the original trilogy to not notice that 'The Force Awakens' is in fact more of an up to date remake of 'A New Hope' with the nicer bits of 'The Empire Strikes Back' and 'The Return of the Jedi' thrown in. Does that warrant the price of whatever you pay in your neck of the woods for an IMAX ticket(believe me, no other format does this movie justice) - I would say go for it, especially if you're not an old fan and are new to the series(not that there are too many of you weirdos around).

The casting choices are excellent what with the trio from the previous trilogy showing their age. Peter Mayhew and company are back as Chewbacca, R2D2 and C3PO. The newer generation (pardon the ugly pun) is represented by Daisy Ridley, John Boyega and a sublime Adam Driver. Given we all know Harrison, Carrie and Marks' prowess in front of a camera lets move on to the newcomers. Daisy Ridley plays a desert scavenger who's destiny inevitably is what we are going to learn about in the movies to come. It is a little disappointing to see the brilliant Oscar Isaac restricted to a few scenes with a bit of smart trigger happy dialogue bits and a bit of pizzazz. John Boyega plays his part well as a stormtrooper whos not convinced about his day job. There are a fair bit of cameos but Max Von Sydow's extremely small role as a possible force adept disappointed me. Maybe we'll get to see a bit more of him? Daniel Craig, Simon Pegg, JJ's friend Grunberg all have cameos including that person who originally played the most active Ewok(yes, I know his name and no am not being rude). A note on the CGI only characters - we never get to see Supreme Leader Snoke in person - he seems to tower over everyone in a couple of holo-transmits but Andy Serkis is once again relegated to mocap histrionics as is Lupita Nyong'o who plays Maz Kanata(another possible force adept perhaps). Also before I forget we've got a female captain of Stormtroopers (plus you'll see that the First Order has in a span of 30 years gotten more or less gender equal as has the Resistance) in Captain Phasma(we never get to see Gwendoline Christies face behind the gold stormtrooper helmet).

Now that we've gotten everyone else out of the way, Adam Driver can be discussed. We get introducted to this new helmeted warrior who's working with the First Order as egged on by Supreme Leader Snoke and in conjunction with General Hux(did I miss out on mentioning Domnhall Gleeson? Well, he's there and is menacing and we get to see his face stretch across an Imax screen contorted with..er..menace). A lot has been spoken of his portrayal of this character that we are sure is going to arc across the current set of three episodes. Without giving away too many spoilers, his portrayal of a wayward son being tempted by forces he wants to align with but realises are way beyond his control is brilliant. Petulance, anger, curiosity, helplessness and sheer menace ripple through in his performance. Yes he does smash up equipment and generate what can only be interpreted as amused consternation among the storm troopers when they are not in complete terror contemplating what he's going to do next. But the crazy uncertainty gives us a lot of tense expectation as well. His tall, gaunt frame and almost innocent eyes add to the darkness of Kylo Ren's presence on screen. Of all the positive additions to the new cast, Adam Driver stands out - tall, force-enabled and menacing.

This would also bring us to another positive continuance of the Star Wars saga - John Williams. In my fan-deluded view, I would venture to say his score is almost driven by the force. This story, as was 'A New Hope' plays out along the formula of a modern space opera and while Mr.Williams ensures we realise we are watching Star Wars, unlike JJ, he keeps this a creation of its own. Be it Rey's theme which is slightly melancholy or the track that accompanies a chase of the millenium falcon(did I forget to mention its possibly one of THE best flight chase sequences choreographed?), the music pops a very slight hint of a trumpeting fanfare or a melodic interlude on strings that will tap into your nostalgia. The score literally creeps through Kylo Ren's abductions and blasts through an X-Wing attack, it reminds you of Han and his royal love and gives you goosebumps when it flows into the Force theme. For want of a better word to describe this and without any intention of landing a pun - the music by John Williams is stellar.

To return to a story that has been well established and taken through an arc at some length is always a dicey project to undertake. And when the fan base is skewed heavily in favour of a movie that was first released in the seventies and has more man-boys(and women-girls) in its fan following, it does make sense to endeavour to please them. But is that the prerogative of an auteur is the question people are asking of JJ, Would you rather not displease the fans and ensure the box office is a kicker or would you bring a little originality into the picture? Ah well, the question has been answered to the pleasure of (apparently), the mild discomfort of a certain number and the open scorn of a certain other demography. My verdict - 'The Force Awakens' is a good addition to the Star Wars saga but I would certainly not rate it on par with the mind-blower that I had expected. And yes, that does skew towards being judgemental - but I will side with those of us that yield ownership of a creation to the creator but appreciation of it purely to the patrons. After all, we are not talking about modernist art, we are talking about a well loved and established science fable.

My rating - 7/10