Post by victoriao on Oct 10, 2009 20:59:03 GMT
Today I watched The Commissioner, a pan-European funded conspiracy thriller starring John Hurt, at his most craggy, as a British politician posted to Brussels and uncovering murky goings-on in a German chemicals plant. Mr Morrissey has ninth billing and his name is misspelt in the opening credits 
Now, as a rule I really enjoy watching Mr Hurt (and love his splendid actory voice) but here he was hampered by having to play a character who, as written, was almost completely charmless. This becomes a problem when we're meant to believe that he's a ladies' man and serial seducer – when his wife talked about 'having to sit by while you f*** every fresh-out-of-college researcher' it was hard not to think, 'Seriously? This guy?' And when he started eyeing up a pretty blonde waitress who looked all of twenty years old, he just came across as a bit of an old perv.
Anyhow, after twenty minutes of this an audible cheer went up from my sofa as Mr Morrissey rolled up, sporting his own accent and at his most winsomely fresh-faced and smiley:
He plays Murray Lomax, a journo...
... who gets involved with Mr Hurt's character and the Portuguese Commissioner for the Environment (played by Rosana Pastor) in investigating the conspiracy.
Meanwhile Mr Hurt and Ms Pastor are experiencing an overwhelming, if inexplicable, attraction to one another, resulting in some of the worst flirtatious banter I have ever heard:
Morton: You're not by any chance some kind of feminist?
Helena: The worst kind. A woman!
Morton: [chuckling] Oh. Excuse me!
This might be the point in the movie at which you ask yourself, as I did, why the foxy Helena persists in throwing herself at this pompous a*** when sitting across the table, right in her eyeline in fact, there is the bright, charming and self-evidently scrumptious Mr Lomax. However, in an instance of what we might call the Idris Elba Rule, in this kind of formulaic movie an actor in a supporting role becomes, for the purposes of plot, entirely sexless, however much all evidence might point in the opposite direction.
Members of this forum will not be surprised to hear that Mr Morrissey creates more sparky chemistry with both the leading lady and the leading man than they manage with each other…
… and will also be pleased to learn that despite his low billing and limited screen time (though he has a few good scenes), there is plenty of D.B.E.C.P. to be enjoyed
In summary, the movie is 'meh', but Mr Morrissey alone is worth the price of admission. But you knew that already
PS While writing this post with the TV on in the background I suddenly became aware of the sound of Mr M.'s mellifluous voice - on a McDonalds ad of all things
They have him reading a verse about the McDonalds eating experience 
I'm not exactly a fan of the company; his voice sounds lovely though...
Now, as a rule I really enjoy watching Mr Hurt (and love his splendid actory voice) but here he was hampered by having to play a character who, as written, was almost completely charmless. This becomes a problem when we're meant to believe that he's a ladies' man and serial seducer – when his wife talked about 'having to sit by while you f*** every fresh-out-of-college researcher' it was hard not to think, 'Seriously? This guy?' And when he started eyeing up a pretty blonde waitress who looked all of twenty years old, he just came across as a bit of an old perv.
Anyhow, after twenty minutes of this an audible cheer went up from my sofa as Mr Morrissey rolled up, sporting his own accent and at his most winsomely fresh-faced and smiley:
He plays Murray Lomax, a journo...
... who gets involved with Mr Hurt's character and the Portuguese Commissioner for the Environment (played by Rosana Pastor) in investigating the conspiracy.
Meanwhile Mr Hurt and Ms Pastor are experiencing an overwhelming, if inexplicable, attraction to one another, resulting in some of the worst flirtatious banter I have ever heard:
Morton: You're not by any chance some kind of feminist?
Helena: The worst kind. A woman!
Morton: [chuckling] Oh. Excuse me!
This might be the point in the movie at which you ask yourself, as I did, why the foxy Helena persists in throwing herself at this pompous a*** when sitting across the table, right in her eyeline in fact, there is the bright, charming and self-evidently scrumptious Mr Lomax. However, in an instance of what we might call the Idris Elba Rule, in this kind of formulaic movie an actor in a supporting role becomes, for the purposes of plot, entirely sexless, however much all evidence might point in the opposite direction.
Members of this forum will not be surprised to hear that Mr Morrissey creates more sparky chemistry with both the leading lady and the leading man than they manage with each other…
… and will also be pleased to learn that despite his low billing and limited screen time (though he has a few good scenes), there is plenty of D.B.E.C.P. to be enjoyed
In summary, the movie is 'meh', but Mr Morrissey alone is worth the price of admission. But you knew that already
PS While writing this post with the TV on in the background I suddenly became aware of the sound of Mr M.'s mellifluous voice - on a McDonalds ad of all things
They have him reading a verse about the McDonalds eating experience 
I'm not exactly a fan of the company; his voice sounds lovely though...
