Charlie Casanova (2010)

I heard about this film simply because Emmett J Scanlan is my favorite actor, and as an actor myself I like to watch every type of film I can possibly find. It was just a bonus really that I found one with him in it. I waited a year and a half to see this film because of where it was being shown before it was released on DVD, and it was well worth my wait. I think that some people are focusing too much on the budget details. The story line was interesting and intense, the script was amazing and the performance from Emmett was just flawless. I would recommend this film to everyone and anyone. Charlie Casanova has an intense feel to it all the way through it, and you don't know how it's going to pan out. So, if you're the type who like predictable, not very well thought out films, don't watch it. If you like original story lines, intelligent and performances like no other, then get this film! There is no other film like this and I think it was harshly judged by some. Whether you love it or hate it, you have to admit, the story is like no other. Absolute perfection for me.

I agree with the other 1 star review. Don't judge a film on it's budget or production process, judge it on its merits as a piece of emotion inducing storytelling. The director wants you to love this or hate it, he has a immature need for you to have an emotional connection of some sort with his film, feeling that even if you hate it he has done a great job - truth is it's pants. I didn't care enough to hate it, it just made me go 'meh' and shrug my shoulders. It comes across like the director tried too hard to make something that jumps up and down and goes 'look at me, look at me, please notice me!'. He drew shock tactics from a number of well trodden paths and overused sources that seem to have distracted him from infusing his film with the most important ingredient - an engaging story. The acting is so-so, nothing that would help this to stand out but, to be fair to the actors, they were hampered by the script or lack thereof, the main guy (can't remember his name offhand but apparently he was in Hollyoaks..) being the only one to get any sizable screen time, in which he proceeds to chew up the poorly lit scenery. As to the cinematography, well, let's just say there's hope for all those college films that are gathering dust in former film students back rooms - dust them off guys, if this can get a release there's a chance for all your short films shot on grainy minidv, lit with yer da's garden light, with the audio recorded on yer webcam mic.You may ask why I write a review if the film meant nothing to me. Well, it's because I had the misfortune to attend a (free) screening of it with a q&a with the director afterwards. As I sat there in the audience, surrounded with cast and crew and competition winning Hollyoaks fans, listening to the director's expletive ridden pretentious ranting I felt something I hadn't in the previous 1 hour 37 minutes - emotion. And that emotion was disgust. Or maybe I was just a little bloated from the curry I had beforehand. At least that part of my evening was enjoyable.

In spite of a ridiculous rant by a sad and pathetic fool called 'billy the hick' (Aptly named) I will keep this short and state that this groundbreaking movie has taken many of the staid opposition to change in any form by surprise. With the result that they can only comment on the negative. OK not everybody will enjoy this movie. (I hated 'The sound of music') but for a first time low cost incredibly well written, acted and directed film Charlie Casanover, has opened a door of hope for so many independent film makers with the courage to present their work on their own terms. you can like it or loath it, but you can't ignore Charlie Casanova.

When I first started out as a writer, producers and directors would tell you that they were looking for an original voice, however they rarely meant it, which is why we are subjected to so much pap on our TV and Cinema screens. In Terry McMahon we find an original and exciting voice, that may grate on some, but will find fertile purchase in open minds. I was lucky enough to see the film in Galway at the Film Fleadh. I doubt it will get a general release, but it deserves one. Emmet Scanlan plays the eponymous Charlie a character who feels increasingly embittered by his emasculation through conformity to a society that seems to pander to the underclasses. Of course all fascists need someone to blame their woes upon and here it's the tracksuit mafia. I believe the correct slang term is "Scangers". However it's clear that Charlie has trouble feeling anything at all. After accidentally running a person over in his car he crosses a line - there is no guilt, no remorse - he abdicates responsibility for his actions. From that moment on his decisions are determined by the turn of a playing card. Sometimes the results are amusing, sometimes tragic. Charlie pulsates with anger and venom as he exacts revenge on a boring life. Willing to gamble everything in order to feel something. His superiority complex a cover for deep insecurities that his 187 point IQ cannot get to grips with. He literally doesn't know whether to laugh or cry, can fake both and feel neither. It's a powerful, mesmerizing performance by Emmet Scanlan. Leigh Arnold and Ruth McIntyre are the tragic women in his life. Damien Hannaway is a fantastic foil to the flamboyant Charlie and turns in a beautiful performance. The star however is the script and Terry McMahon's voice as a writer / director.The film was made for little or no money. This however suits the movie as the camera is almost always in the face of the characters creating a very claustrophobic feel. There are very few cutaways to scenery, sets or indeed wide shots. Mostly I suspect because there were no sets or scenery. It's a film that could have been shot anywhere. Generic hotel bedrooms and bathrooms mean there's no relief in the surroundings. You are trapped in this world just like the characters. The only scenery is a motorway at night, and that seems more like a barrier than a road to anywhere.The lighting in the film is minimal, but again that adds to the feel. The look of the piece is reminiscent of Mean Streets. It almost has a late seventies feel. This could be Scorsese's New York, but for the Dublin accents.It is very wordy and theatrical. That alone won't appeal to many. The subject matter will also put some off. After the screening, which invited us to love or hate the film, some people may well have hated it, a few people were sitting on the fence.... It's clear that I and many others loved it. I was buzzing after the event... so much so that I'm writing this review after the long drive home.I would love to see more from Terry McMahon.