Oliver!

"If you don't mind noise with no silence
It's a fine life, it's a fine life
If you don't mind songs with domestic violence
It's a fine life, it's a fine life"

Those aren't the lyrics from "It's a Fine Life", one of the many memorable songs from Lionel Bart's Oliver!, but I've always thought they should be. There's a strange morphing that happens at some point in the musical of Charles Dickens famous novel Oliver Twist, and all of a sudden the life of a cheeky bunch of Victorian-era pickpockets isn't quite as fun as it was during "Consider Yourself".

I watched Oliver! the movie musical as a child, and was amused by its colour and movement. But I always wondered why - when the story was dealing with dark topics like child abuse and slavery, domestic violence, robbery and murder - characters would break into a thigh-slapping number about oom-pah-pahing or having a "fine life". It just seemed to jar with me. And I was reminded of that watching Oliver! at the Brisbane Arts Theatre. If you can get past the inconsistencies (which only ever seem to be my problem), it's a good nostalgic watch.

The Brisbane Arts Theatre and directors Rodney Wolff and Susan Gillingham have obviously made a decision to put bums on seats with a faithful reproduction of the movie for stage - complete with live 12-piece orchestra. The set (Una Hollingworth) and costumes (Sandra Hines) give the impression of a pop-up book of 1830s London - filled with under-nourished yet cherubic children, nasty workhouses masters, heartless funeral parlour owners, prostitutes with hearts of gold and their murderous boyfriends.

The child roles in this production are all double cast; but on opening night the star of the show for me was the young lad playing the Artful Dodger, whose energy seemed to infect his fellow actor playing Oliver, and boost his performance. Together they shined. Catherine Collings was a warm but spirited Nancy, and had the best singing voice in the cast. John Mulvihill played a very slithery Fagin - a few weeks into the run and I'm sure he'll be rivalling Sir Alex Guinness, who played the role in the 1948 David Lean film.

I felt the second half of the show let it down; the climax of the story felt rushed and I found its execution onstage confusing. Despite doggedly faithful adaptation, the directors have chosen to not use the movie ending, which I actually think would have suited the light tone of this production better. There were also some mystifying bits of choreography during some of the songs; but this is a minor quibble as the majority of the music, singing and dancing was very professional.

I realise I haven't actually mentioned the plot of Oliver! in this review; but then I guess if you don't know it, you've probably been living in a cave since the mid-1800s. Even so, this production is a good chance to relive those childhood memories and dreams of "Food! Glorious Food!"

Oliver! by Lionel Bart.
Brisbane Arts Theatre
Until Saturday, June 24, 2006
Thurs-Sat @ 8pm; Sat & Sun @ 2pm
Cost:$25/$20
Book on 3369 2344

The Da Vinci Code

It's sold 40 million copies, cheesed off the Catholic Church, prompted copyright battles in British courts and sparked more interest in the Holy Grail than Indiana Jones and Monty Python put together. It is "The Da Vinci Code" , and the movie is sticking with the spelling error (it's actually "da Vinci") that made author Dan Brown a super-duper-quadruple squillionaire.

And honestly? It's not THAT bad. OK, it's pretty bad. But there's a lot worse out there (Johnny Knoxville pretending to be retarded in "The Ringer", anyone?). I show my easily-pierced bleeding heart here when I say I feel desperately sorry for everyone involved in "The Da Vinci Code" movie - because it was never going to live up to the hype. And to give them credit, they do the best with what they've got.

Ron "All-American" Howard has given us a faithful but uninspired adaptation. The cuts he's made only serve to reduce any depth of character in his two leads - Tom Hanks as Harvard symbology professor Robert Langdon, and Audrey Tautou as French cryptologist Sophie Neveu. Together the pair plod through the 2-and-a-half hour running time, doggedly putting together the clues that will prove Mary Magdelene married Jesus Christ and bore his child, all the while running from a crazed albino monk and a secretive Catholic sect. I'm actually glad they left the book's romantic tension out of the film, as sadly these two have zero chemistry and it would have been a bit creepy.

Paul Bettany is spooky as Silas, the character single-handedly setting back the cause of those suffering albinism by 400 years. His violence - to others and himself - makes you cringe. But Sir Ian McKellen is the cream of the crop as Grail historian Leigh Teabing, injecting some much needed life into the second half of the film. You honestly could give that man the worst role in the worst film ever (Johnny Knoxville's part in "The Ringer", anyone?), and he'd still make it gold.

But there's some nice things in this film - the flashback and explanatory sequences are a good use of digital imaging, and the story does lend itself to some truly wonderful locations, which Ron Howard's wide lens camera captures.

Critics everywhere have panned this film - just check out handy reference guide Rotten Tomatoes. I can't go that far. Most people will go and see this film to see how the novel translates to screen, and it's worth it for that reason alone. I just hope the movie doesn't stop the general public debating the historical and religious questions that book inspired them to ask.

Two For the Money

Click here to go to the podcast of this review!

I've decided to start incorporating limericks into my reviews. Behold!

The world of sports betting is crazy
And morals can be somewhat hazy
In the midst of this casino
Stands a gasping Pacino
Whose acting we know is not lazy!

"Two for the Money" stars Matthew McConaughey as Brandon Lang, a former gridiron player ruled out of the game through injury. His talent for picking winners in the NFL attracts the attention of Walter Abrams (Al Pacino), an ex-gambler with a big mouth and a heart condition. Walter runs a profitable business advising gamblers on how to bet. He brings Brandon to New York, where he goes about turning him into "John Anthony" - the slick Million Dollar Man who picks it right 80 per cent of the time.

I really wasn't planning to see this film - it seemed to be your average "Innocent boy is seduced by money and the glamour of big city life, loses self, but comes good in the end" story. But once you get past the often mystifying world of American football it's a reasonably smart film with enough original angles on the psyche of gambling and addiction to make it worthwhile.

Al Pacino does give an over-the-top performance as Walter Abrams, but manages to brings humanity to the character. Walter is NOT the evil big-city seducer, luring a naive young Midwesterner into his demon lair. Sure, he offers a glittering prize, but his motive for doing so is intriguing. He's deeply flawed, and it makes an unlikeable character likeable. A gaunt-looking Rene Russo gives a strong but low-key performance as Walter's "keep-it-together" wife Toni. The central role of Brandon suits Matthew McConaughey to a tee - it doesn't really stretch his acting chops, rather, just gives him an opportunity to be boyishly charming, confident and above all - buff. Ladies beware!

This film does run 15 or 20 minutes longer than it needs too - and it also suffers from a slight conceit about its central subject of sports betting. Obviously it's aimed at American viewers who know exactly what "New York beating Green Bay by 5 points in the under" means. But if you ignore that and focus on the haggard features of Al Pacino, it's a decent way to spend 2 hours, and might make you reconsider that bet on the State of Origin!