Despite having no particularly high expectations for either of these films they were a pleasant surprise. Chalet Girl, my Orange Wednesday choice this week, is a brit-rom-com set in the Austrian alps. A strong cast is headed up by Felicity Jones (currently also starring in The Tempest) as Kim, a sad ex-skater-gurl who has been working in a fast food restaurant since her mum died, and Ed Westwick (of Gossip Girl fame, the extra-pretty one) as Jonny, the privileged son of a rich family. Kim, in a bid to earn more money to keep her and her dad (Bill Bailey, frying aubergines) afloat, takes a job as a chalet girl (housekeeper) in a super-fancy chalet in the alps. Said chalet is owned by Jonny's parents, played by Bill Nighy and Brooke Shields in good cop/ bad cop mode. Predictably Kim and Jonny fall in love, the parents don't approve etc etc. However, there is excitement in the form of snowboarding, which Kim takes to like a duck to water and enters the end-of-season competition. Can she get past her memories of the car crash which killed her mother, regain her former skillz, and win the £25k prize money? You betcha.
So yes, it is a little cheesy, but the game cast and stunning settings save this film. Jones is a likable romantic heroine, she's practical and hard-working and looks like your everyday pretty girl, even despite the inevitable 'makeover'. I approved of the look of this film in general; everyone is wrapped up warm and there is some delightful knitwear on show (Mikki's fairisle cardy was the highlight for me). Jonny on the other hand is far too pretty to be real, but surprisingly likable. I didn't realise that he is actually British, having only been aware of him in Gossip Girl, and was bracing myself for a hideous accent which never came. The love affair between them is hardly earth-shattering but there's a sweet "falling in love" montage where she teaches him to snowboard against sparkling snow and sunsets. The rest of the cast are obviously enjoying themselves which adds to the film's upbeat feeling. Tamsin Egerton (one to watch) is pleasing as a fairly 2D character, and German actor Ken Duken is fun as Kim's snowboarding teacher Mikki; though he has an unusually deep voice and puts on an almost impenetrable Finnish accent which makes it sound like he's been dubbed, bless him.
There may be little that's groundbreaking about this film but the beautiful setting, and the action-girl heroine, make it feel fresh and contemporary. Guaranteed to make you smile. Also, it contains a german Knodel (dumpling) joke, and frankly, it doesn't get much better than that.
The Adjustment Bureau was an impulse viewing on Sunday afternoon based on the recommendation of a friend who described it as "Twilight meets Inception". That was more than enough to tempt me in, and I am pleased to report that it is in fact rather enjoyable. Not everyone's cup of tea perhaps, but I liked it. It stars Matt Damon as David Norris, a rising political star who is about to hear whether he has made it to congress when he meets Elise (Emily Blunt), a charismatic ballet-dancer, and they instantly fall for each other. However, David gets a visit from an enigmatic organization known as 'The Adjustment Bureau', a group of smartly dressed men in hats who inform him that he cannot see Elise again because it messes with their 'plan'. This 'plan' has been apparently laid out by 'The Chairman' ("You may know him by other names" says John Slattery in a fedora, mysteriously). Essentially they appear to be angels with a taste for retro fashions (the hats have a function) who, like Pratchett's History Monks in the Discworld series, travel about the place nudging people back onto the path to their individual destinies. The film boils down to Norris trying to evade the bureau and his own fate to be with Elise.
It's now been nearly a week since I saw this film so I can't remember much of what I'd intended to say about it, but I can recommend it. It's a good mix of romance and action. Blunt and Damon provide value for money as ever and make a believable couple - you can see how he would be seduced by her no-nonsense attitude after being surrounded by sycophants for years. What is less clear is what she sees in him, but then he is pretty damn cute, so maybe that's all it is. I loved the portrayal of the bureau men, despite the nods to Christianity; they sit somewhere between City of Angels' angels and Minority Report's Department of Justice (no coincidence, this film and Minority Report are both based on stories by Philip K. Dick). It also reminded me a little of A Life Less Ordinary - except these angels are splitting them up instead of keeping them together.
It's a joy to see John Slattery on the big screen, still slightly in Roger Sterling mode; as well as Terence Stamp, who is chilling as the senior angel/bureau chappie called in to deal with Norris. The final action sequence where Elise and David are chased through various New York landmarks, zipping through the bureau's magic doors to go from a busy street to Liberty Island to a sports stadium, is undeniably exciting and impressive. And even the predictable ending works just fine. You wouldn't want them to defy God, the Universe, and everything and not get their happy ending, would you?
If you want Minority Report with a little less darkness and a little more glamour, or an actiony City of Angels with a happy ending and without Nicholas Cage looking pouty, see this film.
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