The Living End

Rating: 7/10 (19 July 2014)

Bradley Cooper's character does not evoke much sympathy in the first act, but that is probably the point, he's a rather tiresome nobody, suddenly transformed by the wonder drug that he acquires from his brother-in-law (isn't it always the way). Neil Burger crafts a pacey, good looking film from Leslie Dixon's screenplay from Alan Glynn's novel "The Dark Fields" stimulating some interesting questions in the viewer, as the best films do. It's an interesting idea, played out with great style and high energy. Cooper's narration is well handled, managing not to annoy, allowing us to concentrate on the action. There are some dizzying visuals that are highly effective, adding to a feeling of freshness. The main characters are all engaging, with good support from Robert de Niro (not stretched), Abbie Cornish, Andrew Howard, and the very watchable Anna Friel. There are perhaps a couple of minor gripes - for one thing, there's a feeling of rampant wish fulfilment about some of the sequences which, even in a fantasy film, seems a bit of a stretch. Also, as any writer knows, blank page syndrome in the very literal way it appears here, is utter nonsense. If you are sitting in front of a blank page in the past clichéd way that Cooper's Eddie Morra does here, you are not a writer, but again, maybe that was the point. This film is well worth seeing, meanwhile, I'm off to the pharmacy.