Indie Watch
Alan Partridge
By Dan Krovich
April 3, 2014
BoxOfficeProphets.com
Alan Partridge
Alan Partridge is a character who has been familiar to British audiences for over two decades, having appeared in multiple radio and television programs and specials, but he is largely unknown in the United States. The character is played by Steve Coogan and was created by Coogan along with Armando Iannucci (In the Loop, Veep) and other writers of the BBC Radio 4 program On the Hour. Partridge is a parody of radio and television talk show hosts, and he gets his first feature film with the appropriately titled Alan Partridge.
The film does not go into much of the character’s back story, and the film is a standalone work. I’m sure that there were probably aspects of the film that referred back to the character’s history to appeal to long-time fans, but it also plays for people being introduced to the character for the first time. You get a sense of Alan pretty quickly. He is the midday host at a small town radio station, but you get the sense that he has tasted more success in the past. The radio station has just been purchased by a corporate conglomerate that is looking to rebrand, which has everyone on edge.
Ultimately it is late night host Pat Farrell (Colm Meaney) who gets the sack. He returns to the station during the launch party with a shotgun and takes everyone hostage. He states that he will only speak to police through Alan Partridge, so Alan becomes the intermediary. He quickly realizes that this role makes him the “face of the siege” and the media attention can be used to his career advantage.
There are plenty of trademarks similar to previous work by Coogan and Iannucci. They often focus on characters with the fatal flaw of an uneasy combination of egotism and insecurity and how these personality traits can come to the forefront even with major stakes on the line like the rush to war (In the Loop), national politics (Veep), and here with Alan Partridge, a hostage crisis. This is all done through hysterical satire, though one noticeable difference between this film and the other two mentioned works is a much lower level of profanity.
The film also presents a satirical take on other relevant issues of the day. Obviously the radio industry has undergone a massive shift from corporatization of local stations and competition from the Internet. At the core there is the reaction of one generation as they are forced out as the younger generation that threatens to push them into irrelevancy. Also tackled is the current fascination with and desire for fame even if it comes at the price of dignity or something more.
However, don’t mistake Alan Partridge for an issue movie. Its main goal is to be funny and the laugh is valued more than making a point. It is successful at bringing the laughs. If you’re familiar with Coogan, you know the type of humor – fast paced with a mix of absurdity and word play. Alan Partridge is a hilarious treat whether you’ve followed the character for years or if you’re being introduced to him for the first time.
In Theaters and
Available at Amazon
Available at iTunes
Available at Vudu
New releases for April 4th
Afflicted: Another entry in the found footage genre, Afflicted follows two friends, Derek and Clif, as they take a trip around the world while recording their exploits for a travel blog. After Derek goes to bed with a woman he meets at a club in Paris, he becomes afflicted with a strange condition. At first it seems to endow him with super powers (making the film reminiscent of Chronicle in parts), but as the affliction progresses, it turns into something more sinister.
Available at Vudu
Dom Hemingway: Jude Law takes on the British gangster genre as Dom Hemingway, a notorious safe cracker who has just been released from jail after serving a 12-year prison sentence. As he re-enters society he has multiple concerns, such as reconnecting with his estranged daughter and trying to get paid for taking the fall and not ratting out his co-conspirators. Dom only knows one way, so going straight is not an option and he is soon drawn back into the world that led him to prison in the first place.
Frankie & Alice: Halle Berry plays Frankie, a stripper in 1970s Los Angeles. If that doesn’t make life difficult enough, she also suffers from multiple personality disorder harboring two additional identities: a racist white Southern woman and a seven-year-old child with a genius level IQ. After an episode she finds herself under the care of Oz (Stellan Skarsgard), a burnt out psychotherapist. As Oz treats his new patient, he also begins to rediscover his passion for his profession.
Nymphomaniac: Volume II: Lars von Trier’s four hour opus, Nymphomaniac, is split into two separate films for North American release. Volume 2 continues the story of Joe (Charlotte Gainsbourg) who is a sex addict (she prefers the term nymphomaniac) as she pursues her self-destructive sexual behavior. Reaction seems to suggest that part 2 loses steam and does not match the discovery of part 1, but it is still worthwhile to get von Trier’s full vision.
Available at Amazon
Available at iTunes
Under the Skin: Director Jonathan Glazer is known largely from his work directing advertisements and music videos, but he makes his third feature film (after Sexy Beast and Birth) with the science fiction film, Under the Skin. Scarlett Johansson plays an alien who comes to Earth, takes a human form, and then travels around Scotland looking to seduce men for her nefarious purposes. Many of the encounters in the film are shot on hidden camera with men who are non-actors and had no idea they were speaking to movie star Johansson, much less appearing in a movie, making it sort of a sci-fi art film version of Borat or Bad Grandpa.
The Unknown Known: Perhaps less of a portrait of a powerful political figure in recent American history, The Unknown Known becomes more of a battle between a skillful interviewer and a subject who is masterful at bending words. Acclaimed documentarian Errol Morris interviews politician Donald Rumsfeld, who most famously served as Secretary of Defense to President George W. Bush. Morris is known for getting his subjects to open up and give straight answers, but he may have met his match in Rumsfeld, who has years of experience in learning how to spin his answers , when he questions him on topics including the 9/11 attacks, torture policy, and the Iraq War.