Film Review – Che: Part One

Che Guevara (Benicio Del Toro) addresses the United Nations in 1964

Director Steven Soderbergh’s Che: Part One tells the story of Che Guevara and his role in the Cuban revolution, from the moment a clean-cut Che meets Fidel Castro in Mexico City in 1955 to the taking of Havana two years later.

Interspersed with the revolution are scenes from Che’s inspirational appearance at the United Nations in New York in 1964 and a philosophical interview with an American journalist.

This is an absorbing biopic of one of the twentieth century’s most important and controversial figures, and Soderbergh treats his subject with admirable even-handedness. The Cuban jungle provides a stunning backdrop, as does the mournful and delicate traditional score.

Any film about a real-life character as iconic as Che, however, hinges on the lead performance. Benicio Del Toro does a typically fine job of portraying the quiet, intelligent revolutionary, struggling against the military government, internal politics within the rebel movement, and his own chronic asthma.

Sadly, though, despite his reported seven years researching the role, Del Toro’s Che is somewhat lifeless. Little is shown of the emotions of this supposedly most thoughtful of men, and we never really know why he decided to leave behind a wife and child to fight for Cuba.

What passion he shows flickers only briefly, when he tells the UN that Latin Americans are united under one cry: “homeland or death.”

Movie Reivew – State of Play

State of Play is the latest British TV series to warrant a US reworking, and gives Russell Crowe the chance to add journalist to a movie CV that already includes Roman warrior and tortured mathematician.

And what a scruffy journalist his character Cal McAffrey is. If you’re looking for the clichéd Irish-American who likes a drink and doesn’t play by the rules, he’s your man.

Similarly predictable is Cal’s boss, Helen Mirren’s foul-mouthed Washington Globe editor. Her managerial style consists of shouting a lot – particularly at the few journalists who actually seem to be doing any work.

And a political thriller wouldn’t be complete without the rookie who the veteran grudgingly takes under his or her wing, would it? Step forward Rachael McAdams, as wide-eyed blogger, Della Frye.

The final piece in the jigsaw is Ben Affleck’s congressman Stephen Collins, around whom the convoluted plot revolves. Collins and McAffrey were college room-mates, and it is his old buddy that the congressman turns to when he ends up at the centre of a predictably complex scandal.

Director Kevin McDonald, of Last King of Scotland fame, does a creditable job of keeping the action moving slickly along but there’s a constant nagging feeling that it’s all been done before. The highlight is an amusingly quirky cameo from Jason Bateman, star of US TV comedy Arrested Development, as a sleazy PR guy.

Sadly, before Bateman’s appearance, I could only agree with Helen Mirren’s editor in one of her tyrannical rants when she bellowed, “I do not give a shit about the rest of the story!”