Films > Film Reviews
Free Fire
Cinema City
28/03/17
Ben Wheatley is a lovely chap, and it's my considered opinion that everyone should get to spend a little bit of time in his company after watching his new movie Free Fire. He may have a conflicting view on that, given that he's almost finished twenty five nights touring the film around the country, before it goes on general release at the end of the month. The 45 minute Q & A session we were treated to on Tuesday evening was a real joy, and a treat to hear a contemporary director speak so honestly and humorously about the film-making process. After a series of expertly delivered questions from our Cinema City host, the floor was opened to audience questions, and Ben entertained us with tales of building movie sets in Minecraft (sans giant spiders), wanting to working with Lee Marvin and direct an episode of Battlestar Galactica, and how you convince a bunch of Hollywood stars to drag their asses around in the dirt for six weeks, which is essentially what the Free Fire shoot consisted of.
You don't need to know too much going into Free Fire. It's set in the Seventies (and there's a very good reason for that) and we're introduced quickly and efficiently to the ensemble cast that includes the likes of Armie Hammer, Sam Riley, and Sharlto Copley. The motivations of the characters are fairly unimportant in a movie such as this, but we're left in no doubt as to who are the ass-kickers, and who are the assholes.
A few anachronistic pieces of dialogue aside, plus a purposefully (?) mixed message of how we're supposed to feel about Brie Larson's singular female character (butt of appropriately crass 70's sexism or empowered capable architect of the entire operation?), Free Fire triumphs as a period piece. Tensions are built expertly, and the businesslike use of script and score mean that before long the gun deal at the centre of the story goes south, and we as viewers are trapped in an abandoned warehouse with shoulder-pad bullet wounds and blown out knee-caps, with no other option than to shoot our way out with the rest of the rag-tag goons and gangsters.
The technical achievement of this 'one set' story is impressive, and Wheatley clearly has creative film making in his cross-hairs whenever he gets behind a camera. At no point does the director confuse me with where he's put the characters or what they are doing in the physicality of their rapidly deteriorating surroundings. That being said, neither does Free Fire attempt to exploit that opportunity for really innovative film-making given the constraints that it has placed upon itself, and for the most part I'm not reminded of how groundbreaking Ben Wheatley's creativity can be. About three quarters of the way through I realise that I have lost track somewhat of where all the characters are supposed to be, both physically and motivationally, and I do find myself wishing they'd hurry up and start killing each other.
As we approach a finale, I am thankfully reminded of why Ben Wheatley is considered one of the UK cinema's more progressive creators. The tone darkens, yet at the same time becomes more slapstick, the camera starts to move to more unusual and claustrophobic angles and positions, and both the sound and the soundtrack become overwhelming and oppressive.
The gag at the end of the movie (which Mr. Wheatley had us believe was one of the main points of the entire film) points to a knowing understanding of how to craft a smart movie. And indeed, that's what is offered up. Much like Cillian Murphy's character, Chris, I was hoping to get presented with an M-16. What I got was an AR-70, none the less firing live rounds from a full magazine, and sometimes, you should be grateful for what you get given. There's way too many Vernons out there willing to let you take away rusted old pieces that fire nothing but blanks.