Monday 26 July 2010

Review Rewind: Hunger (2008)

(Proof that smoking really is bad for your health)

Cast: Michael Fassbender & Liam Cunningham

Directed by: Steve McQueen

Screenplay by: Enda Walsh & Steve McQueen

Plot:

The incredible true story of Irish Republican, Bobby Sands hunger strike that ultimately cost him his life.

Verdict:

Steve McQueen's debut movie, Hunger is mostly told, not through dialogue but with imagery. Using his camera expertly, always keeping it held firmly on a single image like somebody washing the blood off his hands, makes the scene say all it needs to say without any spoken explanation. There is plenty of other striking examples of this throughout.

Despite this brilliant technique, one of the strongest scenes in the picture does emerge through lots of spoken dialogue. A fifteen-minute sequence in which Fassbender's (watch out for this guy over the next few years) Bobby Sands talks to his priest about his plans perfectly captures the essence of this determined character. But again, notice how beautifully the camera captures the scene, especially as Sands relays a childhood memory.

Bold, powerful and uncompromising, winning plenty of awards at film festivals all over the globe, Hunger is an astonishing debut feature film.

DDDD

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