Joel Fry-days: Silent Night (2020)

*Premise spoilers*

Since it’s December, I’m pivoting to Christmas-themed Joel Fry projects, which will get progressively more Christmasy as I go. This one is pretty much just a gangster film that’s set around Christmas—it features carols played ironically over the soundtrack, a hit man with both a body and his daughter’s present in the back of his van, and a climactic Christmas dinner scene. My feelings toward the movie are mixed. It’s not all that good, but I did enjoy it a little more than I expected.

Mark, a former hit man, has just gotten out of prison. As he gets back on his feet, he’s living in his van, taking odd jobs and trying to be present for his young daughter Daisy. However, his old boss Caddy summons Mark with an offer he can’t refuse. Someone in the operation’s been stealing from Caddy, and there are three suspects he wants Mark to interrogate and kill. Despite Mark’s insistence that he doesn’t want any part of that life anymore, Caddy makes it clear that he doesn’t get to say no, with Daisy’s life hanging in the balance.

So, yeah. Former hit man trying to go straight, coerced back into one last job—“One. Last. Job.” is literally the tagline for the film. Adorable kid in peril, ex-wife who’d rather have a reliable coparent than wads of cash stuffed through the mail slot in unmarked envelopes, former-cellmate-turned-partner who may be more trouble than he’s worth. On the whole, the movie isn’t bad so much as it’s incredibly basic, the epitome of “nothing you haven’t seen before.” Meanwhile, the last half-hour consumes its body weight in twists, some of which work and some of which are just bizarre.

Most of the characters/performances are similar, exactly what you’d expect for a film like this. Bradley Taylor’s Mark is gruff and wary, trying his best under difficult circumstances. He suspects, and a couple old buddies confirm, that this assignment is likely intended to be a suicide mission, and he searches for an angle to get ahead of those who want to double-cross him. Cary Crankson is effective as Mark’s old cellmate Alan, who’s eager to get in on the job but less careful and competent than Mark. In other words, he’s a wildcard who might drag Mark down with him. I really enjoy Nathaniel Martello-White as Pete, a former hit man who’s shifted to drug dealing after falling out of favor with Caddy.

Then we have Joel Fry as Seamus—yes, he’s my favorite character in the film, but I swear it’s warranted! He’s involved in the gangster stuff as well, though it’s not quite clear what specific role he plays. Seamus lives with Pete, and when he runs into Mark, he invites him back to the flat so they can catch up. Over the course of the job, Mark repeatedly comes to Pete and Seamus for intel and help, whether they’re eager to give it or not.

For my money, Seamus and Pete are the least cliche parts about the movie, which is quite refreshing for the only major Black characters in the film. They’re definitely both criminals, and they know how to look after their own, but they’re also wonderfully domestic and down-to-earth. Joel Fry’s performance is warm, friendly, and chill.

There’s just so much to enjoy here. When Mark and Seamus run into each other, he says, “Oh my gosh, Mark?”, immediately followed by, “Fuckin’ hell, man!”, and the wide swing from G- to R-rated language tickles me. Seamus makes up a song while he peels potatoes, using his knife for percussion—and yet, when someone unexpected comes knocking, he keeps humming and peeling but watches very intently as Pete goes to the door. He’s a picky eater who likes Christmas crackers and also knows his way around a gun.

I won’t describe Seamus and Pete’s vibe as “criminals are regular people too!” because 1) condescending and 2) it’s not like the other gangsters aren’t shown to be regular people. After all, Mark is trying to do right by his daughter, he and Alan amuse themselves with speculation about the queen while driving from hit to hit, and Caddy is driven, not just by power and money, but by his jealous love for his wife/girlfriend. But with most of the characters, it feels like a thumbnail, the classic archetype of a conflicted hit man, a screwup sidekick, or a paranoid crime lord. Pete and Seamus feel specific and individual in ways that the other characters don’t.

So, this shakes out as an “I can’t hate you because I like Joel Fry so much in it!” movie. He’s just great as Seamus—really fun and personable—and he plays very well off both Taylor and Martello-White.

Accent Watch

London.

Recommend?

In General – Eh, not a must. It’s not offensively bad or anything, but it’s not very good.

Joel Fry – I probably would, at least once. This is kind of a delightful performance that I wasn’t expecting in a gangster film!

Warnings

Violence, language, sexual content, drinking/smoking/drug use, and strong thematic elements.

Y tu Luna también: 3Below: Season 2, Episode 13 – “A Glorious End, Part 2” (2019)

*Season 2 arc spoilers.*

Here we are—series finale time! It’s not the last we see of Krel (and Aja,) since there are a couple more Tales of Arcadia projects after this, but 3Below is both the show that features them the most (duh) and my favorite series in the franchise, so it does definitely mark the end of an era.

For the sake of spoilers, I won’t say too much about the plot. It’s another Big Battle finale. The stakes have never been higher. Our heroes need all the allies they can get. Stopping Morando may require the ultimate sacrifice.

This is a nice culmination of everything that came before it. In the climactic fight—which constitutes most of the episode, much like episode 12—everyone gets a chance to contribute in a major way. Whether it’s Eli chipping in with a cool callback to a previous episode or Varvatos creating a shield to protect the royals, it takes the whole gang for our heroes to succeed.

One thing I continue to really love about Aja is how, even as a warrior, she’s still so compassionate. I think nearly every time she fights Col. Kubritz in this series, Aja tries to reach her, to get her to see reason and lay down her arms. Here, as Arcadia Oaks is besieged all around them by Omens, Aja says, “Whatever you think you were protecting Earth from, how could it possibly be worse than this?” It’s not even a moment, a la the Doctor giving the baddies a choice to back down before stopping them. Aja and Kubritz can be actively engaged in a fight, and Aja won’t stop trying to get her to see the error of her ways. What a wonderful quality.

Our character of the week is Archie, voiced by none other than Alfred Molina! He only has a cameo here, a stinger that provides a bridge to Wizards, the third series in the franchise. He’s a wizard’s familiar who generally takes the form of a cat (and sometimes a cat-faced dragon.) In Wizards, he’s the friend and advisor to Douxie, who’s the main character on that show.

Here in the finale, we get a little of everything from Krel. He gets down to music as he works on a piece of tech that hopefully will be the key to stopping Morando. He has some “I’m surrounded by idiots”-style aggravation as he tries to assist others remotely with said tech. I love him shouting at someone in the comms and then, with an irritated sigh, telling Aja, “Make that two mekrons, maybe three [before we’re ready].” He also has emotional moments as they prepare to face off against Morando, worried about keeping their parents safe until they’re fully restored. When Aja expresses optimism that their plan is going to work, he says, “It has to, or we lose them all over again.”

I know I said there’s more Krel to come in the franchise, but since, again, 3Below is his best showcase, I want to take another moment to shout out just how great Diego Luna is in this role. He’s funny, affecting, and endearing from start to finish. He handles all the technobabble well, which is impressive since he’s performing in his second language. He cultivates impeccable sibling chemistry with Tatiana Maslany. This is genuinely one of my favorite performances from him.

Wrapping up 3Below before we move onto Luna’s episodes of Wizards:

Recommend?

In General – Yes. If you’ve watched Trollhunters, you’ll have a greater appreciation for some of the supporting characters and callbacks, but I also think it could stand well enough on its own. A terrific sci-fi romp with lots of humor and heart.

Diego Luna – Absolutely! I love Krel, and like I said, Luna does such excellent work with this role.

Warnings

Violence, scary moments for kids, some gross-out humor, and thematic elements (including xenophobia.)

Other Doctor Lives: Stonemouth: Episode 1 (2015)

*CW: suicide*

*Premise spoilers*

Way back when I was going through Peter Capaldi’s filmography at the start of this blog—the proto-Other Doctor Lives—the miniseries The Crow Road was my introduction to author Iain Banks. I remember how much I loved that one, so it’s fitting that another Scottish Doctor had one of his earliest roles in a miniseries based on a different Banks novel.

It’s been two years since Stewart Gilmour left Stonemouth, chased out of town by his fiancee Ellie’s crime lord family after an epic mistake. He’s just returned to attend the funeral for Callum, one of his best friends and Ellie’s brother. Everyone thinks he’s just there to come sniffing around Ellie again, and Stewart would be lying if he said she hadn’t crossed his mind. But he’s also deeply affected by Callum’s death and isn’t sure he buys the official record that it was suicide.

It’s been a number of years since I watched The Crow Road, so there are plenty of particulars about the story that I can’t recall very well, but I know I definitely got familiar vibes from the first half of this miniseries. There’s the similar theme of a somewhat rudderless young man digging into the mystery surrounding someone important to him, someone who’s no longer there to provide the answers he’s looking for. Flashbacks are very important to both stories, slipping down easily between the past and the present. And both have this rather dueling sense of beauty and bleakness that seems to be part of the essential human condition in the small Scottish town where it takes place.

I knew the actor playing Stewart was familiar to me, but it wasn’t until I saw his name that I could place him. Christian Cooke: he played Ross, a UNIT soldier, in the Tenth Doctor story “The Sontaran Stratagem” / “The Poison Sky.” I recognize Charlotte Spencer, who plays Ellie, from Sanditon, where she was Lady Babington. Some good veteran Scottish actors here, including Gary Lewis and Peter Mullan, the latter of whom plays Ellie and Callum’s dad. And while I’m not really familiar with the actors, I really like Chris Fulton as Stewart’s other best friend Ferg—kudos for the close friendship between a queer guy and a straight guy!—and Samuel Robertson as Callum in flashbacks.

Ncuti Gatwa plays Dougie, one of Stewart’s old friends. Stewart is most interested in reconnecting because Dougie’s a police officer now, and he hopes to get the real scoop on Callum’s death. Dougie’s not sure he buys that there was any foul play, but he does give Stewart one piece of intel that looks like it could prove valuable.

As such, Dougie is a very functional character and doesn’t give Gatwa too much to do. He’s only in a couple scenes, and we just see hints of his personality in between dropping exposition—I like when he slyly insists on avoiding “casting aspersions on the professionalism of our trusty boozehound of a pathologist.”

Accent Watch

Scottish. 

Recommend?

In General – I might. It started a little slow, but I was drawn into it more as the episode went on. It’s only two episodes, so we’ll see what I think after the conclusion.

Ncuti Gatwa – Interesting artifact because it’s such an early performance, but probably not a must. So far, it’s a small, undemanding role.

Warnings

Strong thematic elements (including suicide and references to incest,) violence, sexual content, language, and drinking/smoking/drug references.