First Among Equals

The West Wing meets Desperate Housewives.
Who Wants to be a Prime Minister?

Typically in America, when you talk about a “red box,” you’re usually alluding to the increasingly popular, inexpensive DVD rental company RedBox, which — operating like a vending machine — dispenses discs on the cheap in and around major shopping centers. Moreover, the American version of the RedBox privately doles out offerings you may not want to walk into the public Blockbuster to rent such as Meet the Spartans, Witless Protection, National Lampoon Presents Cattle Call, and Blonde and Blonder (actual films listed on their website). However, in England, a “red box” is something far more prestigious — namely instead of James Bond DVDs, these bad boys contain top secret documents worthy of James Bond himself.

Carried by members of Parliament and colored red to “signify British state ownership,” these official red boxes which are filled with highly sensitive governmental information were initially lined with lead and made of wood, “originally so that they could be thrown off the side of a ship in the event of capture.” However, now these locked and hinged, bomb- and disaster-proof ultra-briefcases “designed to survive any catastrophe that may befall their owner,” are still “a mark of prestige and high office,” not to mention most likely hell to pass through our post-9/11 airline X-ray security checkpoints, where you would probably be told next time to bring a RedBox’s The Hottie and the Nottie instead of the Parliamentary version.

Near the beginning of the brilliant 1986 British televised ten-part miniseries adaptation of Jeffrey Archer’s internationally bestselling novel, First Among Equals, we’re introduced to four very different, yet equally intelligent and ambitious newly elected members of Parliament. While of course, their very own red boxes are acquired easily as they climb the ranks from the backbenches in 1964, this riveting tale follows the same four and spans more than two decades as each one tries in their own unique way to become Prime Minister. Filled with secret alliances, sex scandals, shady financial dealings, infidelities and divorce, terrorism, death, sabotage, and power struggles, this politically charged soap opera may seem daunting at first given its 494 minute running time spread across the three-disc DVD set (hitting stores on September 16) but I found it so gripping that I was hooked within the first episode and managed to squeeze in the entire set within days.

First Among Equals draws significantly on Archer’s own firsthand experience as an MP (Member of Parliament) from the Lincolnshire constituency of Louth, following his election at the age of twenty-nine to the conservative party. And in fact, “several situations in the novel,” chronicle some of the events in his “own early political career in the British House of Commons” as well as the numerous controversies which have followed him throughout his life’s work.

Although the text was released as two distinctly different versions with a dropped character and changed ending for American readers additionally adding greater explanation of the British political process, screenwriter Derek Marlowe and directors John Gorrie, Sarah Harding and Brian Mills made a wise decision to not only use the UK version of the book but also retain all four characters. Wisely changing some of the names of actual politicians like Margaret Thatcher (to Hilary Turner), Harold Wilson (to George Bainbridge), Edward Heath (to Henry Lindsey), Reginald Maudling (to Christopher Morland), and James Callaghan (to Kenneth Hollander), it’s the ideal miniseries soap opera for thinking audiences. Despite an absence of any real print restoration which would’ve helped with the dated transfer, First Among Equals stands alongside my very favorite miniseries, including The Thorn Birds and Roots.

While initially — unfamiliar with Archer’s work — I feared that it would completely slant towards the right given his own political leanings, Wikipedia explained that “in Parliament, Archer was on the left of the Conservative Party, rebelling against some of his party’s polices,” and in his very own words once said, “I’m what you might call centre-right but I’ve always disliked the right wing as much as I’ve disliked the left wing." And indeed, he illustrates the hypocrisies of both parties and manages to put his emphasis first and foremost on the characters themselves rather than making them mouthpieces for any strict political rhetoric.

Featuring a nicely divided plot line centering on two members of the Labour Party and two from the Conservative, the title is derived as the “literal translation of the Latin term Primus inter pares,” which can refer to “either the most senior member of a group of equals,” or most likely in this case, “someone who claims to be just one member of a group of equals when in reality he or she completely dominates said group.” While each member of the cast of characters does get their turn to dominate, some are more obvious than others such as the staunch and unscrupulous schemer, Charles Seymour (Jeremy Child), an old-fashioned conservative in every sense who puts his career before everything else, alienating his surprisingly hilarious and unceasingly perceptive wife Fiona (a remarkable Jane Booker) who always sees through Charles’s tricks.

While on the surface everything about Seymour seems like the epitome of old-England and monarchy is practically stamped on his forehead, he gets a remarkable run for his money from the earnest, idealist Simon Kerslake (James Faulkner). Arguably the most likable character of the series — and perhaps one who shares Archer’s own centrist view — Kerslake represents a new face for the conservatives. Not wealthy by any means — he’s the opposite of Seymour in every sense — as one of the few non-lawyers in the house with a background studying literature at Oxford and a wife who is a top doctor (Joanna David) instead of a party-planning socialite, Simon takes his work seriously, although he makes some foolish financial decisions along the way.

And although one would assume that his greatest ally would be a member of his own party, Kerslake realizes (almost far too late) how ruthless Seymour can be in competition. Indeed from his earliest days on the backbenches, he befriends an equally unlikely member of the Labour Party, the Scotish Andrew Fraser (David Robb), who disappoints his wealthy conservative family in running on the other ticket. Passionate and impulsive, in the first episode Fraser further goes against his predetermined course in life by dumping his fiancé (on the night their engagement was to be announced) when he falls in love at first sight with a beguiling woman he makes his wife (Diana Hardcastle). The only problem is that his ex’s father is a superior Member of Parliament and may want to use his power for familial revenge.

Even though he’s incredibly bright, the exceptionally blue collar worker turned hard-working lawyer Raymond Gould (remarkable two-time Academy Award nominee Tom Wilkinson from In the Bedroom and Michael Clayton), initially appears as the Atticus Finch of the Labour Party. With his devoted wife Joyce (Anita Carey) at his side, this uncommonly gifted speaker and author rises steadily through the party; however he realizes with an increase in status just how different everything (including Joyce) is back home in Leeds. Soon unwilling to admit he’s ashamed of his roots, Gould spends more and more time away from home, indulging in extramarital flings including one that turns into true love as a heartbreaking triangle develops.

Although it’s a bit light on the extras, perhaps given the fact that the original production is more than twenty years old, the DVD set includes a biography of Jeffrey Archer (known to Generation Y for his Bridget Jones movie cameo) as well as the rest of the cast. Using real life situations and political figures for the backdrop, this incredibly authentic miniseries seems as realistic as those red boxes the men carry back and forth, which owes as much to Archer as it does for the studio behind the production. Originally filmed for Granada Television, the studio “constructed a full-scale replica set of the House of Commons Chamber… which for many years formed a central part of their Granada Studios Tour attraction, where visitors could see mock debates being performed on the set by actors,” although it has since been placed into storage after being purchased for usage in the recent acclaimed miniseries State of Play by Paul Abbott.

And indeed, far more entertaining than the dry business order of the day viewable on CSPAN, the scenes in the House of Commons are filled with intensity, shouting, demonstrative applause and boos, making it no wonder that there’s footage of John McCain falling asleep in the house on CNN as I think, much like their far cooler versions of the red boxes, we could definitely learn a thing or two on how to bring things to the floor with style from the dear old Brits… although perhaps we could skip the wigs.

However, for the time being, First Among Equals makes for a nice escape of too much campaign coverage and repetitive soundbytes, political infighting that — much like a great political story on cable news channels — doesn’t skimp on sex scandals, intrigue, and ever-changing events throughout the decades. Needless to say, this set is highly recommended — of the “buy” not “rent” category — so skip the RedBox (they don’t carry it anyway), do not pass go, and surf right over to Acorn Media or Amazon.

The Search for John Gissing

Originally published at Blogcritics as part of my feature: Under the Radar

The story behind the final release of writer/director Mike Binder’s charming corporate culture clash comedy The Search for John Gissing seven years after its production is nearly as entertaining, surprising, amusing, and filled with enough dubious events to rival the plot of the film itself.

After using the benefit of a British tax break to shoot overseas and scraping up enough money between his own savings and that of supportive family and friends, Binder filmed Gissing in early 2001 entirely “on the cheap,” as he told Cinematical’s James Rocchi. Yet, despite drawing raves from audience members and inclusions into several film festivals around the globe, he was never able to find a fair studio offer, admitting that, “the only deals we could get were from people who wanted to own it. Forever. For doing nothing.”

Understandably finding it unacceptable, Binder promptly moved on to other projects, including HBO’s The Mind of the Married Man, his critical breakout Joan Allen and Kevin Costner vehicle The Upside of Anger, the straight-to-DVD, Preston Sturges meets Jerry Maguire Ben Affleck comedy Man About Town, and the little-seen, entirely underrated Don Cheadle and Adam Sandler post 9/11 buddy film Reign Over Me.

However, while Gissing remained on the back burner for Binder who even at one point “re-wrote the whole script… called… The Multinationals,” with the intention of filming it again, the search for the original John Gissing film remained a constant obsession for its fiercely loyal, determined, and unwavering fans. While Binder grants that the devotees consisted of “primarily absolute Rickman fans” (among which he includes himself), an online petition was begun to force the film’s release, ultimately gathering 3,630 signatures and fans flew from across not only the U.S. but England as well to see the film and Binder’s Q&A when Gissing was included “as a last minute thing” at the Westwood International Film Festival. Touched by their passion, Binder took down the mailing information of forty attendees and sent them each a burned copy of the DVD, as Cinematical reports.

Inspired, finally he decided to follow through on his goal “to put together a site to sell my movies,” which he admits was “more work than I thought it was going to be… there’s a new obstacle every day.” However, via his experiment to eventually create “a big-ass pipeline going right through the ground to people that want to buy my movies,” he found an unlikely DVD maker through an adult entertainment DVD company “looking to go letimate.” Eventually the disc earned its release, with no studio input — a Binder film (made by Mike and produced by his brother Jack) on a Binder website to a Binder audience. After stumbling on the DVD at a local video store, I found myself becoming quite the Gissing fan in my own right.

To be fair, I’ve been a Binder fan without realizing it since tagging along with my parents to see the Big Chill-like, sunny Indian Summer in the early '90s (which he wrote and directed) but ever since Upside of Anger, I’ve made a special effort to seek out his work. In that film, he became one of those unique and admirable (yet far too few) males to accurately portray women as complicated and fully realized characters and it was thrilling to witness a movie with such a tremendous and overwhelmingly female cast wherein the women weren’t obsessed with shopping or mani/pedis. Yet, more than that, he’s equally — and obviously given his gender — probably even more so at home in the world of the male-dominated concrete jungle where Art of War seems to be the post-MBA manual. It’s a subject he keeps returning to again and again — whether it plays a dominant role as it did in Man About Town or a more subtle one with Don Cheadle’s character's work struggles in Reign Over Me.

And again, international business is the agenda of the day in The Search for John Gissing, yet to just say it’s a business comedy would be to do it an immense disservice. It begins as a far better hodgepodge of Neil Simon’s Out-of-Towners and the comedies of the modern day French master Francis Veber (The Valet, The Closet, The Dinner Game) with a little of Billy Wilder’s The Apartment thrown in for good measure, which Binder admits indeed helped inspire the office building set decoration.

When Compu-Corp employee Matthew Barnes (Binder) and his wife Linda (Janeane Garofalo) arrive in London, they assume it’ll be their next temporary landing place in a series of buy-outs, mergers that go along with being one spoke in the wheel of his employer’s international conglomerate company. However, from the moment their feet touch cement at Heathrow Airport, anything and everything goes wrong as all the plans made for the couple’s arrival by Matthew’s same-level London colleague John Gissing (Alan Rickman) fall through. Soon they begin to wonder if their trip is being sabotaged on purpose by Mr. Gissing himself. And the first forty minutes of the film blends the misunderstandings and mistaken identities found in not only Veber but also British sex farces to great effect as the couple find themselves in situations one has to see to believe. I’d reveal more about exactly what and whom the Americans encounter but hesitate to do so as by even expanding on the character descriptions, I’d be killing several of the film’s jokes before one even inserted the disc into their DVD player.

However, once Rickman and Binder share screen time, it morphs first from a chess match of one-upmanship into thematically similar territory of the freewheeling buddy movie adventure he did so well in Reign Over Me. Except in the case of Gissing, the tears come from laughter this time instead of sadness and we absolutely can’t get enough of Rickman as we’ve never seen him before. As a Steve Martin-like “wild and crazy guy,” Binder notes that contrary to his fear that Rickman was “gonna be tough; he seems kind of cranky and cantankerous and a bit curmudgeonly in the meetings,” he was instead the “warmest, sweetest gentlemen I’d ever worked with in my life,” adding that he believes Rickman “was just dying to tear up the scenery and the furniture.” And after viewing it, I wouldn’t hesitate to agree and despite my fondness for Rickman as a serious actor (despite being the source of my childhood nightmares after I watched Die Hard with my older brother while still in grade school), I would honestly love to see him offered more comedic work to show the wise-cracking, pratfall friendly side of Harry Potter’s Severus Snape.

With a great turn by the always hysterical Janeane Garofalo who makes a perfect bantering partner for Binder, Gissing is one of those word-of-mouth films sure to get one phoning others as soon as it’s over. Filled with inventive jokes about the culture clash to be found when Americans travel abroad even to a country that speaks our language, the award-winning The Search For John Gissing also contains priceless bits sure to attract an even wider international base as the finale involves a German group of buyers and a French antique-chair obsessed superior to Barnes and Gissing who receives his comeuppance in a decidedly unexpected way.

And although given the background of the film, it’s easy to forgive the skimpy extras (containing outtakes and deleted scenes), one can’t help but wonder, given its cinematic plot-worthy backstory, if perhaps in the future Binder won’t do something with it down the road. Whether he chooses to make an insider Hollywood satire (although after the lackluster Tropic Thunder -- man, do we have enough of those) or in its next DVD release, turn Gissing into a double-disc special feature heavy version, one thing is for certain — namely, you can guess you’ll find it via Binder’s own “big ass pipeline,” online, which may inspire more independent filmmakers to reach prospective audiences down the road.

Still, in the effort not to inspire yet another petition to plead with him to reinvent a perfectly good DVD, I must say that Binder’s movie is even more entertaining than the seven year odyssey to its release. Or in the spirit of brevity to match the setting of the film’s business world — I’d urge you to begin The Search for John Gissing at your earliest convenience. Thank you for your time and there will be a meeting about it in the morning. And as I’m sure Matthew Barnes would warn — just make sure you don’t ask John Gissing to call you with the details.

Knife in the Water

Director:
Roman Polanski


From the first moment we slide into the driver’s seat, we’re warned of the dangers of the road, not the least of which is to beware of hitchhikers. However, when the hitch is on the other end and we find ourselves stranded, forgive the pun but the other rule of thumb is to be ever so careful of the people from whom we accept a ride. This is infinitely more suspenseful when the car is replaced with a sailboat and one finds themselves in the middle of nowhere on a picturesque yet eerily quiet lake, unsure wherein the ultimate jeopardy lies whether it’s in the perils of the voyage or in neglecting to follow the rules of stranger danger ingrained in us as children.

In most films, it’s the down-on-their-luck loners we find ourselves most concerned with whether it’s Billy Zane terrorizing Nicole Kidman in Dead Calm or the kill-you-with-kindness menace lurking just below that bland smile in the brilliant French thriller With a Friend like Harry. However, upon revisiting the gorgeously remastered cinematic debut from Polish filmmaker Roman Polanski with his anxiety laden, three-character stunner Knife in the Water, we’re never sure if the danger lies within the hearts of either the mysteriously nameless, young, blonde hitchhiker (Oskar Werner look-alike, Zygmunt Malanowicz) or the bourgeois couple with whom he finds himself traveling, including the aggressively boorish and antisocial Andrzej (Leon Niemczyk) and his visibly younger wife Krystyna (Jolante Umecka).

The film opens in sheer cinematographic bliss as Krystyna drives her husband down a deserted road as the shadows from the leaf-filled trees dance peacefully upon her windshield in crisp black and white punctuated with a sultry jazz score from saxophonist Bernt Rosengren. The tempo changes with a jolt as her husband demands his chance at the wheel. Obviously while one foreshadows the subtext about emasculation and male rivalry given the film’s title, possibly our first indication that Krystyna’s domineering husband is in an irrational, virility-driven midlife crisis occurs as soon as he gets into the driver’s seat. Soon the exquisite beauty of the film’s photography switches to cool, masculine, straightforward lines with a subtle, classical, old-fashioned score that is quickly forgotten when he slams on the brakes, nearly hitting the nameless deserted Young Man (Malanowicz) precariously standing in the middle of the road.

The fact that he refused to slow down earlier, preferring to wield his lethal power over a harmless, ill-equipped stranger says a lot about our wealthy lead. Trained by the predictability of suspenseful dramas, we worry that the Young Man will soon receive his comeuppance when he’s not only offered a ride with the two but also—with no particular place to go and an even vaguer timeline—is impulsively invited along for their overnight sailing excursion so that he can ride with them again in the morning. However, he’s not as naively innocent as one would assume. From the moment his rucksack hits the backseat of their car, he and Andrzej engage in petty male rivalry and one-upmanship subconsciously more to challenge one another than to garner the attentions of the female in their midst; the Young Man agrees to come along, noting that his elder wishes to continue “the game.” Dismissing this charge with a snobbish, “You’re not in my class, kid,” Andrzej doesn’t heed his own warning, proceeding to do everything in his power to toy with the lad.

Intriguingly, Polanski — fully aware of the way that men try to prove their virility in the company of women more out of sport than genuine affection — makes a choice that proves maturity beyond his young years just fresh out of film school, to allow his amateur actress and leading lady to first appear onscreen looking like a complete schoolmarm. As he notes in an eye-opening video introduction on the Criterion disc, the notorious storyboarding director Polanski cleverly depicted Krystyna in an unflattering light, initially hiding her eyes behind pointed glasses, her greasy hair up and body completely covered. This makes it much more effective as she grows progressively more dazzling from the moment her feet touch the deck of the sailboat, when the glasses come off, hair blows free, excess clothes are removed and we witness the shapely beauty that—without her intention—propels the foolish men to an unexpectedly violent yet inevitable confrontation over the course of the next twenty-four hours.

Expertly Polanski used his modest means as a first-time filmmaker to tremendous effect at what must have been a continuity nightmare to get every reaction shot just right in working with the unpredictability of the weather along with the vast inexperience of everyone involved. Indeed, Polanski and his co-writers note on the disc that they acted out the script amongst themselves, writing it over the course of five nights. Amazingly, although it was filmed more than a year later as they had to contend with objections of the government that the film wasn’t propagandist enough and far too “western minded,” it retains this fresh, authentic, and impulsive vibe much enhanced by the radical jazz score (another musical form frowned upon in Poland at the time).

However, perhaps its greatest artistic decision came from co-writer Jerrzy Skolimowski’s ingenious effort not to let their limited budget become a hindrance, using it beneficially by paying homage to the Greek dramas he loved that all consisted of the bare minimum of characters, set in the same location over a condensed period of time such as Knife’s twenty-four hour time span.

The film, which hasn’t lost its ability to surprise and keep us riveted by the tense psychological testosterone-fueled warfare—all driven by subtle Hitchcockian male gaze and the fact that the two rivals are far more similar than they’d like to admit—is one of the director’s very best works. Now given the double-disc luxury treatment from Criterion complete with Polanski’s participation and including several of his student films, I’d even go as far as to say that Knife in the Water holds up better than any of his other 1960s offerings including the excellent yet dated Rosemary’s Baby.

Although it will never top his masterwork Chinatown, Knife in the Water, which became the first Polish nominee ever included in the Best Foreign Language Film Category of the Academy Awards (predictably losing to Fellini’s brilliant 8 & ½), introduced international audiences to the director’s most frequently visited themes and inspired two more psychological ménage a trois films in a “loose trilogy” including the director’s Cul-de-Sac and the chilling Death and the Maiden.

In addition, those who know anything about the tragic biography of the filmmaker (who would later go on to make the intensely personal Oscar winning World War II film, The Pianist) will be greatly amused by IMDb’s inclusion of the popular rumor that the sailboat in Knife may have indeed been formerly owned by one of Hitler’s close friends, the Nazi party member Hermann Goering, which makes the setting of such primal male rivalry seem all the more fitting.