The Hatton Garden Safe Deposit heist during the Easter Bank Holiday weekend of 2015 captured the attention of the British public and media alike. A fascinating insight into the true events of the Hatton Garden jewellery heist and its aftermath, Hatton Garden tells the story of the largest burglary in British legal history.
Heists have always been a fun genre of film, where the audience gets to enjoy the intrigue of committing a significant crime. Often overly convoluted plans are carried out by super suave and charismatic individuals who carry out heists for the thrill of succeeding more than the actual financial gain. The Hatton Garden Heist, on the other hand, puts together a different scenario entirely. Instead of fit, young, and charming individuals getting together, this is a very simple heist conspired by a crew of geriatric men. A complete flip on the usual expectations, this four-part mini-series piques the curiosity further as it is based on true events that occurred six years ago.
The ability to carry out a heist in this modern technologically advanced day-and-age with a crew that barely have the physicality to tie their own shoes, have to monitor their sugar intake, and have trouble going to the toilet, is an exceptional task, and forms a very gripping first few parts. The reality of the situation is a much simpler affair than what Ocean's 11, Mission Impossible, or The Italian Jobwould lead you to believe. It's the simplicity that highlights the exquisite work that the series writers Jeff Pope and Terry Winsor have put into building up the characters of Kenny, Danny, Brian, Basil, and Terry.
It's the brilliantly grounded way in which these characters move and react with each other that builds a solid history between characters from the smallest of interactions. The apathy, irritation, and varying levels of respect and loyalty between each person create an incredibly authentic team of criminals. What is also very well put in place, is the focus on their familial commitments and health issues as a manner in which to bring the audience to empathize and sympathize with the crew. While our attitude towards each member changes over time, it all serves to create an engaging story; regardless of whether we want them to succeed or fail.
It all together creates a well-written mini-series. A realistic tone set up with suitable cinematography, and a rabble of not-necessarily-likeable-but-understandable-and-relatable characters. Granted this is my first time learning about The Hatton Garden Heist, but it was certainly a gripping tale.
The Hatton Garden Heist is premiering on AcornTV exclusively in New Zealand
After a remote diamond mine collapses in the far northern regions of Canada, an ice driver leads an impossible rescue mission over a frozen ocean to save the lives of trapped miners despite thawing waters and a threat they never see coming.
Liam Neeson is really doing everything in his power to maintain his legacy as an action hero, after his success with iback in 2008. In the last couple of years, we've seen him in The Marksman, Honest Thief, Cold Pursuit, The Commuter, and now The Ice Road. What sort of murderous situation has his wholesome character been unwittingly drawn into this time?
To be perfectly honest, the first act of this film is a stroke of genius. At least as far as New Zealand goes, we love Laurence Fishburne (The Matrix, John Wick, CSI), we love Liam Neeson (Taken, The Grey, Schindler's List), we love The History Channel's Ice Road Truckers, and the premise really hits home as New Zealand was rocked by the Pike River Mine tragedy that took the lives of 29 miners in 2010 (their bodies still have not been recovered) and led to legislation improvements that resulted in a new Health & Safety at Work Act. The sequence of events that occurs is something that every single person in the construction industry has been taught about, and it resonates with us as a country.
Combining three things that we love with a premise that mirrors the national tragedy that led to the largest overhaul of health and safety legislation in 25 years? Brilliant decisions. Does The Ice Roadend up scoring a hyperbolic 110%? Unfortunately, by the time it crosses the finish line, it's long ago run out of fuel and leaves the audience feeling...meh.
It's an incredibly disappointing turn of events. A highly relatable sequence of events, with some very well-known and likeable names in the cast list, and yet, some poor writing choices result in a near-perfect first act going to waste. Fishburne and Neeson do a commendable job, turning one-dimensional characters into something worth investing in. They turn "brother of mentally impaired man" and "truck driver" into well-rounded characters that have priorities, ideals, and both ethical and moral standards. All of this is done in a few scenes, with minimal dialogue setup; all through some reasonable direction from Jonathan Hensleigh, but mostly from the pedigree of the actors.
At some point, however, Hensleigh was not content with his story. Not content that he could pull off a Togoand have a film that centres entirely on the idea of traversing this inhospitable and questionably safe ice road, for 30 hours straight, out-of-season, and while carrying 700,000 pounds of cargo, when the act of stopping, moving too fast, or too slow, can sink you to the bottom of the water in seconds. Hensleigh was unable to bring tension to this premise without the introduction of actual physical villains. In a decision that reeks of letting a 9-year-old come up with the story, The Ice Roadtakes a drastic turn in the second act; one that it never fully recovers from. The creation of a physical secondary villain element completely sweeps the titular threat under the rug. Everything that the film was building up until that point is essentially disregarded for some caricatures so poorly developed that you can see them twirling their metaphorical moustache in every scene they are in.
The film attempts to balance two sides of the equation at once--the truckers traversing the thinning ice road, and the miners attempting to stay alive--and for what it's worth, the miners' perspectives are not ignored. The story delves into not just the immediate causes of the tragedy, but also the underlying systemic problems that meant the inciting incident was not only likely but guaranteed to happen at some point. It is the other aspect of the natural tension that is undercut by Hensleigh's script, which keeps pushing for more and more "Hollywood" action. The tension between prioritizing production over safety is a balancing act that every high-risk business undergoes on a daily basis. Balancing financial costs, severity, likelihood, available technology, etc., but the script wants none of it. Hensleigh's The Ice Roadwants action; car chases, snowmobile, and motorbike fights, shootouts, hand-to-hand combat. It's all in there, it's all unnecessary, and it's all poorly paced.
It all culminates into one of the most anticlimactic fight scenes I've ever witnessed.
It's not all bad though. The first act is top-notch. I didn't care about any trite platitudes that reek of a first-draft script because Fishburne and Neeson lifted it out of the gutter and gave it heart. The musical compositions were grand and epic with a strong orchestral focus; worthy of a cross-country adventure-thriller. The cinematography was right where it needed to be; lots of panning wide shots with gorgeous landscapes, and closeups for the tense action scenes (despite my seemingly strong hatred of the use of action written into this film, there is an exceptional scene with some drifting trucks that looked and felt amazing to watch).
There was an opportunity for a tense dramatic thriller in The Ice Road, but the opportunity was squandered to make way for a more mainstream and accessible action flick. It ends up being above average, but that's a discouraging endpoint for a film that starts off so well.
When a self-destructive teenager is suspended from school and asked to look after his feisty alcoholic grandmother as a punishment, the crazy time they spend together turns his life around.
The New Zealand film industry is churning out some movies that really tug on the heartstrings; really emotional pieces. Juniper itself is quite a timely film given the recent success of the Euthanasia Referendum in the most recent election and puts forward a kiwi perspective on topics already covered by such films as Blackbird and Supernova. A film that we as a country can fully relate to, that puts coming to terms with death and one's own mortality into terms and framing that we can easily understand.
The characters are rather basic but surprisingly well-written by director-writer Matthew Saville, essentially using stereotypes of the absentee father, the alcoholic grandmother, and the rebellious youth, to arrange and orchestrate some solid character development through their interactions. Our two main leads Ruth and Sam (played by Charlotte Rampling and George Ferrier) conflict with each other at many points, in this well-coordinated narrative play; this is not an amateur "one person develops at a time" story (which is as believable as a street fight where the villains attack one at a time in single file), instead we have two dynamic development arcs, that move concurrently in two different directions, clashing as their personality traits switch between complementing and punishing each other.
On the surface, this looks like a wholesome film that has two headstrong people learning to get along, but in reality, the content is much deeper. Juniperis an exploration of abandonment, isolation, loss, depression, guilt, mourning, loss, suicide, and Saville isn't pulling his punches; death is both a source of peace and unrest.
A beautifully mirrored pair of interlinked stories that forces you to look beyond face value. Not every person will tell you how they feel. Bias is everywhere; Motivations and conflict. And one must be open and receptive to have any chance of maintaining control of life. Saville captures the kiwi spirit brilliantly through Ferrier; the crests and troughs that come with our isolated yet passionate compositions, and our veiled inability to open up and express ourselves without excessive alcohol consumption.
The cinematography is well-executed and suits the atmosphere of the film, using only natural light to add authenticity to the already grounded nature of Juniper. There are many scenes we can't even make out the faces and you can barely see the movements, but all adds to the intrigue and genuine sense of the film. With a lot of slow scenes and awkward (or hostile) interactions, the pacing of the film can be quite lethargic and slow. It allows for a lot of quiet times of contemplation, times to think and come to terms with the events occurring.
The palpable and undeniable honesty of Juniper is what makes it hit hard. Whether it's a mother or a grandparent, we have all lost someone at some point, and the interactions and set designs build such an authentic environment, that the audience will not be able to avoid thinking of their own family members being in this situation. This may trigger. Much like in last year's Bellbird, the sense of loss is inescapable. Beautiful, but suppressed.
