Tristram Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story review by Sam Osborn of www.samseescinema.com
rating: 2 out of 4
Director: Michael Winterbottom Cast: Steve Coogan, Rob Brydon, Kelly Macdonald Screenplay: Frank Cottrell Boyce MPAA Classification: R (language and sexual content)
Michael Winterbottom is in the business of brilliance. He hops about the lilly pads of every genre, continually attempting to innovate how we view the cinema. With his latest outing, Tristram Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story, Winterbottom tries desperately to bridge a character through two stories. His goal, as simple as it may initially seem, is to translate Laurence Sterne's 1759 novel, The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, a book infamously named "the unfilmable book". And if there's anything clear about this film at all, it's that whoever mentioned the book to be unfilmable was assuredly correct.
The film opens in the make-up department, with Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon playing themselves before heading out to the Tristram Shandy set, remarking on the discoloration of Brydon's teeth. We then cut to the actual Tristram Shandy film, with Tristram, also played by Coogan, walking about explaining the film's title. We then flip back to the set, where Coogan's juggling a strained relationship with his wife Jenny (Kelly Macdonald) and another Jennie (Naomie Harris), who works as his assistant. The film continues like this, flipping back and forth between movie and set, ignoring any attempt to form a linear narrative. Winterbottom's challenge is to blend Coogan's on and offscreen character into the same Tristram Shandy; to blend Sterne's novel across the set of the film, and the actual film. Confusing, isn't it?
Well, it's actually not that confusing in reality. It's just annoying. Winterbottom has a smart idea on his hands, but doesn't have a clue how to make it work. The film comes across scatterbrained and ridiculous, without direction or a care in the world. It's random in its narrative and fails to bridge the gap between mock-umentary and straight-cut adaptation. It seems to be stuck in second gear, without any interest to shift up or down.
That said, second gear isn't the worst of places for a film to be. Rob Brydon and Steve Coogan are both worthy entertainers and each have enough precision with their comic timing to keep the audience smiling. Coogan reprises his role from Coffee & Cigarettes (where he also played himself), arrogantly striding about and taking advantage of his celebrity status. The relationships Coogan deals with throughout the film thankfully take an air of realism. He's often stuck between playing a dad, a lover, and an actor. He deals with each poorly and the consequences are skillfully handled by screenwriter Frank Cottrell Boyce. And although the film is fragmented and frankly irrelevant, Boyce's dialogue is never indulgent and rings true with crispy clean comic clarity (oh the alliteration!).
Tristram Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story is, in truth, a difficult film for a critic. There's talent behind the pen of the writer, and talent behind the camera, and talent also in the actors' performances. But it's as though all these talents failed to agree on the proposed outcome. The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy is not adapted here. There are only remnants of that work, and fragments of dozens of other works scattered about the film's 94 minute running length. We can laugh at times and feel the sting of pathos in moments of the romance, but when looked at from afar, Tristram Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story is an ocean that was divvied up into a thousand little puddles, none of which wanting to have anything to do with the other.
-www.samseescinema.com
rating: 2 out of 4
Director: Michael Winterbottom Cast: Steve Coogan, Rob Brydon, Kelly Macdonald Screenplay: Frank Cottrell Boyce MPAA Classification: R (language and sexual content)
Michael Winterbottom is in the business of brilliance. He hops about the lilly pads of every genre, continually attempting to innovate how we view the cinema. With his latest outing, Tristram Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story, Winterbottom tries desperately to bridge a character through two stories. His goal, as simple as it may initially seem, is to translate Laurence Sterne's 1759 novel, The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, a book infamously named "the unfilmable book". And if there's anything clear about this film at all, it's that whoever mentioned the book to be unfilmable was assuredly correct.
The film opens in the make-up department, with Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon playing themselves before heading out to the Tristram Shandy set, remarking on the discoloration of Brydon's teeth. We then cut to the actual Tristram Shandy film, with Tristram, also played by Coogan, walking about explaining the film's title. We then flip back to the set, where Coogan's juggling a strained relationship with his wife Jenny (Kelly Macdonald) and another Jennie (Naomie Harris), who works as his assistant. The film continues like this, flipping back and forth between movie and set, ignoring any attempt to form a linear narrative. Winterbottom's challenge is to blend Coogan's on and offscreen character into the same Tristram Shandy; to blend Sterne's novel across the set of the film, and the actual film. Confusing, isn't it?
Well, it's actually not that confusing in reality. It's just annoying. Winterbottom has a smart idea on his hands, but doesn't have a clue how to make it work. The film comes across scatterbrained and ridiculous, without direction or a care in the world. It's random in its narrative and fails to bridge the gap between mock-umentary and straight-cut adaptation. It seems to be stuck in second gear, without any interest to shift up or down.
That said, second gear isn't the worst of places for a film to be. Rob Brydon and Steve Coogan are both worthy entertainers and each have enough precision with their comic timing to keep the audience smiling. Coogan reprises his role from Coffee & Cigarettes (where he also played himself), arrogantly striding about and taking advantage of his celebrity status. The relationships Coogan deals with throughout the film thankfully take an air of realism. He's often stuck between playing a dad, a lover, and an actor. He deals with each poorly and the consequences are skillfully handled by screenwriter Frank Cottrell Boyce. And although the film is fragmented and frankly irrelevant, Boyce's dialogue is never indulgent and rings true with crispy clean comic clarity (oh the alliteration!).
Tristram Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story is, in truth, a difficult film for a critic. There's talent behind the pen of the writer, and talent behind the camera, and talent also in the actors' performances. But it's as though all these talents failed to agree on the proposed outcome. The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy is not adapted here. There are only remnants of that work, and fragments of dozens of other works scattered about the film's 94 minute running length. We can laugh at times and feel the sting of pathos in moments of the romance, but when looked at from afar, Tristram Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story is an ocean that was divvied up into a thousand little puddles, none of which wanting to have anything to do with the other.
-www.samseescinema.com