Displaying items by tag: John Taylor Smith

DEPRAVITY

US, 2024, 115 minutes, Colour.

Devon Ross, Victoria Justice, Taylor John Smith, Dermot Mulroney, Sasha Luss, Alex Roe.

Directed by Paul Tamasy.

Depravity is a challenging title. Not just wicked, depraved.

The film introduces us to 3 young people, in their 20s. Alex is handsome, man about town, smug, and, we discover, some rather depraved greed and its consequences. Then there are the roommates, Grace, pleasant and attractive, getting caught up in some violence and becoming the victim of violence. And then there is Aria, an art student, roommate, becoming involved but seeming to keep a distance from what goes on.

What goes on is their suspicions of an older sinister-looking gentleman, who goes on walks with his dog, always looking grim, as mysterious and exotic visitors. There is talk of a serial killer. The trio is tempted to suspect him, find a way into his apartment, getting into the crawlspace above the roof, investigating his room, discovering a great deal of money. But, for the drama, of course, the sinister man returns and there are dire consequences for him and, ultimately, for the others.

Also involved in the action is a glamorous but suspicious woman with a foreign accent who visits, is wary of the disappearance of her patron, bringing along a boyfriend, with an accent and blonde hair like a British teddy boy. Also in the act is a detective, rather more casual than the usual New York detective.

So, all kinds of suspicions, deaths, hiding of bodies, mysterious international criminals, the background of the theft of priceless art, mysterious money hidden away.

Dermot Mulroney is the sinister gentleman next door. John Taylor Smith is the superficially charming but greedy Alex. Victoria Justice is the more glamorous Grace. Devon Ross is the underestimated Aria.

A number of unexpected twists throughout the screenplay – and a twist at the end which some astute audiences might have picked.

1. The tone of the title, expectations? As applied to each of the characters?
2. The introduction to the central characters, their personalities, age and experience, relationships, Aria, her art, the paintings, her work, reserved personality? Friendship with Grace, Grace more open? Alex, charm, opportunist?
3. The apartments, suspicions, Mr Evers, his appearance, sinister, with the dog, walking?
4. The background of stalking and serial killers, their suspicions of Mr Evers, wanting to get which room, Alex and his using the roof, Mr Evers returning, Grace on guard, getting out of the situation?
5. Mr Evers, the possibility of his being a killer, the finding of the money, the artworks, Tovia and her glamorous style and look, her suspicious of Mr Evers absence, her return, confrontations? Her boyfriend and his menacing presence?
6. Mr Evers returning, the guns, Grace, killing him, wrapping his body, lowering it down the chute? Its eventually falling, burning?
7. The repercussions of these events on each of the characters, Alex, no conscience, greed, the money, getting rid of the body? Grace, the relationship with Alex, anxieties, some touch of conscience? Aria, her involvement, seeming detachment?
8. The police investigations, the detective, suspicions, the money, the artwork? His behaviour with the suspects?
9. The criminals, arriving, Tovia and her style? The boyfriend? The dramatic confrontations, hiding, searching for the art? Guns? Fights, shootings? Grace dying? Alex and his being tied up, suspended in the chute?
10. Aria, her behaviour, the artwork, the money, involved but seems seeming detachment?
11. Alex, his death, greed?
12. The search for the paintings, Aria, in the apartment, hiding, finding the paintings – and the irony that she was the art thief?

WARFARE

US/UK, 2025, 95 minutes, Colour.

D' Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai, Will Poulter, Cosmo Jarvis, Joseph Quinn, Aaron Mackenzie, Finn Bennett, Michael Gandolfini, Charles Melton, John Taylor Smith, Kit Connor, Noah Centineo.

Directed by Ray Mendoza, Alex Garland.

Ultimately, this is a very grim film. Many audiences will find some sequences unbearable to watch. But, this is a film of warfare.

The action of the film takes place over an evening and morning, the morning action seems to take place in real time. It is Iraq, 2006, three years after the American invasion. The audiences with occupying American forces. There are hostile Iraqis ready to attack, to serve as snipers against the Americans. And there are ordinary Iraqis, seen going about their ordinary business in the streets, shops, chatting… And there are the victims of the action, homes taken over for confronting the enemy, homes destroyed.

The film was cowritten and co-directed by Ray Mendoza, his own memories of the episode and the film noting at the opening that this is a version of memories rather than an objective study of what happened in the mission. In the film, Mendoza is the radio operator, most important for contact, for surveillance, for final rescue details. Mendoza is working with screenwriter and

director, Alex Garland (Ex Machina, Annihilation, Men) who startled many audiences with his imaginative version of conflict within the United States, Civil War.

The American cast, although the lead is Canadian and several significant actors are British (many of them familiar from films and from television series), recreate the camaraderie of the group, the film opening with a moment of shock for the audience with close-ups of an aerobics TV program, the group together, a lot of ogling, comment, the suggestion of boys being boys…

But, the cast went through several weeks boot camp, training in methods of warfare, but also the behaviour of soldiers under stress, in situations of attack and defence, rehearsing not only the action sequences but the collaboration of the men in moments of waiting, in moments of tension.

Audiences will be intrigued by the discipline and the manoeuvres for the men to get from their headquarters to occupy a home in the street, opposite a building which is under suspicion. Then there is the waiting, for something to happen, for someone to shoot, for more information to come from headquarters. Audiences share these moments of nothing happening, time passing, yet having to be on the ready.

The action sequences are vivid, but best described by the word, visceral (or, perhaps, gut-churning), for the men’s experience as well as for the audience’s experience: snipers, response, mistakes made, men wounded, calls for evacuating the wounded, explosions, and, another warning about the graphic close-ups of injured and dead men, listening to their screams, the pain, the cry for morphine, just the unbearable pain of being carried, the rescue. This is an alert to audiences who might find some of these sequences also unbearable.

So, in no way as an entertainment entertainment. Rather, an intense drama, the filmmakers’ serious attempt to immerse its audience in both the calm and the intense death reality of warfare.

1. The truth of the title? The focus on the American invasion of Iraq, and episode, 2006? The presence of Ray Mendoza in the operation? His memories, the writing of the screenplay, collaboration with Alex Garland and his reputation, interests, war? Mendoza and the staging of the action, memories of the experience?
2. Audience response to war, just wars, unjust wars, invasions? For the troops in the war? For those hostile to the troops? For ordinary people as victims of war?
3. The graphic presentation of the action, the action, the shooting, deaths, the close-ups of graphic wounds, limbs lost, soldiers in pain, screams, asking for morphine…? Audience identification, shock, uncomfortable, some seems almost unbearable to watch? Style of the film sometimes muting the sound, some moments of relief for the audience from the screaming?
4. The opening, the aerobics session, the glamorous participants, the group watching, ogling, irritating, the sexual atmosphere, the boys will be boys atmosphere?
5. The transition to the next morning, the men, so young, their training, the role of surveillance, support of the mission, details not understood but obeying the orders for support?
6. The realism of the film, the atmosphere of it unfolding in real time?
7. The group, their drill, in the streets, in line, plan, snipers, invading the house, the terror of the inhabitants, their being put together downstairs, the men deploying in the house, the sniper and his assistant, the radio operator, the tasks of the various men?
8. The eye of the sniper, his descriptions, the radio operator taking notes, the backup of headquarters aerial surveillance, the audience seeing the surveillance, from a high distance, the white dots indicating personnel and vehicles?
9. The seeming ordinariness of the street, shops, men and women, walking, wandering, the number of men passing by, going into the building? Their being described to headquarters? Suspicions?
10. The relief sniper, seeing the men with guns, not getting off a shot? The plan going awry? The range of snipers, their action, the dangers? Coming onto the roof of the building?
11. The action of the camera, during the quiet time panning around and catching people doing their jobs, some repartee, urinating into the bottle, chatter?
12. The camera in action during the bombardment, the roof, blowing the roof? Elliott and his being wounded? The contact with the bushmaster tanks? To evacuate Elliott?
13. Under pressure, going down the stairs, the strategies for the tanks to arrive, the fear of the inhabitants, their plea? The tanks, the timing, getting out, the explosion? The dead soldiers in the street, the graphic close-ups of the wounds, then the dragging of the wounded, there screams, the pain, getting them inside?
14. The focus on the details of the care for the two wounded men, morphine, their comments, pain and screams, stoic suffering? Some of the others shellshocked?
15. The relief command, coming in, the leader, competence, decisions to be made, discussions, surveillance, radio?
16. the final evacuation, the timing, the shooting, tanks getting away?
17. The Iraqi snipers coming into the street, standing about, what they had achieved, the Americans driving away? The destroyed house, the suffering of the family?
18. The nature of warfare for those in action and for victims of warfare?