Brakes (2016) Reviews

• Talent Wasted on Vanity Project

  silvio-mitsubishi2018-10-04

  This film apparently took four years to make, and the performers gave their time for free. Sadly, it shows. It consists of disjointed episodes: Part Two is shown first and details low points in the breakdown of relationships. Part One then shows the happier beginnings. None were sufficiently interesting to make me really care. Mostly shot on hand-held cameras with poor light and colour balance, one vignette features a character acknowledging he is being filmed but does not satisfactorily answer why, or who by? Scenes in underground toilets and sparse lofts are echoey and lack human warmth. Dialogue is at least partly improvised, and it shows in repetition and superficiality. Noel Fielding is capable of wild flights of imagination, but is stifled by the format. His relationship is supposed to fly after a humourless ride on a Zamboni machine with an ice rink worker. The only gay relationship in the film bucks the challenge of how the couple meet by not starting until the morning after. A recently-promoted office worker climbs on a table, only to sing a joyless version of Molly Malone; technically accurate but as uninvolving as can be. Bizarrely, neither the bar staff nor the other drinkers pay any heed. The film has some mildly amusing prospects - a rooftop spat between a zombie and the bride of Frankenstein - but these do not go anywhere and only remind us how little we care about the characters or their mundane romances.

• Original idea, great film

  caprice-12019-04-25

  I had the TV on while transferring video (that I'd shot for a music video I'm making) to my hard drive. The TV was on and the channel happened to be Film 4, the 2016 movie Brakes had just started. I've been waiting over a month to shoot some stuff with a model for my video and this we actually did yesterday. Finally then ... I get to put everything on the hard drive and begin my work. The odd thing is that instead of turning the TV off I got instantly hooked on this movie. I watched it for a while thinking "I'll turn it off in a minute" and ended up switching my PC and camera off instead. I felt really sorry for the Australian woman when she cried, especially after you saw how the guy kind of insisted that she get in touch in the future. And shouldn't Roland Gift be doing more film work? The idea to play "part 2" first was sound. Having seen the inevitable split you then got to see the innocence or manipulation that usually goes on when people are affecting their behaviour to get a date. The person who wanted to end it was, in some cases the more enthusiastic of the two to initiate it. Normally World War 3 wouldn't interfere with my (wannabe) music career so I felt compelled to say how much I enjoyed this gem. Julian Barrett played one of my fave characters ever, the jaded Dan Ashcroft from 2004's Nathan Barley and his segment in this film was pretty disturbing because I've seen someone behave like that for real. I didn't find this to be a comedy (no matter how dark) and my only criticism might be that some of the "hand-held" was too fluid, I thought I'd give the director some of my advice ... LOL. The director here was the talented writer and actress - playing the ice rink attendant (I think). Top film, ill defo watch again and probably buy it for keeps if available on DVD. It's one of those films that I suspect you see a new angle that you missed last time. Also great use of the word "brakes" as opposed to the more apt "breaks". 10 out of 10.

• I'd be ashamed and If I made this

  dannydavies2019-04-25

  Some of the worst camera work and editing I've seen on TV. The acting wasn't good but the camera work, angles, editing really was poor and made the acting look worse. How does stuff like this get 4.8 and put on TV? Awful, not even funny and its supposed to be a comedy? I tried my best to get into what was going on yet none of it made any sense the way it was done. Did it really take 4 years to create this? Looks like it took 10 minutes with no storyboard or script!