Flashbacks of a Fool

Plot synopsis:
Joe Scott (Daniel Craig) is a has-been actor, who seemed to have had great success at one time but who now just spends his time drinking, doing drugs and sleeping with random women. The only person he has in his life is his personal assistant Ophelia and even she is getting tired of him. He receives a call from his mother to say his childhood best friend, Boots, whom he has not seen in years, has died. He attends a disastrous meeting with an up-and-coming director and his agent, who has lost interest in Joe. Joe learns he will not get the part he had hoped would restore his flagging career. His agent tells him that he is washed up, no one wants to work with him and quits. This upsets Joe, who goes for a walk along the beach and walks into the waves. Floating in the sea, he remembers his teenage life.
The film flashes back 25 years, to a 16-year-old Joe (Harry Eden) and his best friend Boots (Max Deacon). We find out that Boots has epilepsy and has recently had an attack in the cinema. Joe’s next-door neighbour, a bored housewife named Evelyn (Jodhi May), comes on to him and invites him over that evening, where they are almost caught in flagrante by her unsuspecting husband. The next day, Joe meets up with a popular but quirky girl his own age from town, Ruth (Felicity Jones). She invites him back to her house and he accepts, leaving Boots alone and angry. Joe is impressed by Ruth's home and her parents' record collection. Ruth applies make up to Joe's face, telling him "think Roxy Girl" while she decides to be Bryan Ferry. The song is Roxy Music's "If There Is Something". Both of them dance and indicate their interest in each other. Next day, Evelyn watches Joe in the bathroom, seducing him to come to her home on the way to his date. Evelyn coaxes Joe to stop with her and they end up having sex; Joe arrives late to meet Ruth, who has been kept company by Boots.
Ruth sees love bites from Evelyn on his neck and storms off. Boots questions Joe if he had sex with Evelyn. Joe declines calmly but Boots questions him again, this time making Joe angry. In his frustration, Joe has a fight with Boots. The next day, Evelyn comes on to Joe again, asking him about his date. Joe responds that it was terrible, due to the visible love bites on his neck. She responds saying she really liked how he touched her, then invites him to her house if he wants to repeat it. She proceeds to force her little girl, Jane (Jodie Tomlinson), who was watching TV, out to play so they can have the house to themselves. While Joe and Evelyn are in bed, Jane finds a washed up mine, climbs on it and detonates it and is killed instantly. Joe blames himself, runs away on the day of the little girl's funeral and doesn't return.
Now in the present, Joe returns to England to attend Boots' funeral but he is too late and has missed it. His mother and Aunt tell him that Boots died of an aneurysm and left behind his wife Ruth (Claire Forlani), four young children and a lot of debt. Joe goes to the graveyard to meet Ruth, who tells him how much she loved Boots and what a wonderful person he was but how she cannot cry, even though it is the saddest moment of her life. His sister tells him that Evelyn also died a few years ago. Evelyn's marriage had broken up after Jane died and she married a man (shown briefly at a fishing scene in Act 1), who beat her. When Evelyn finally found the courage to leave the guy, she was struck and killed by a truck. Her head was never found at the crash site; officials suggested it was taken by a fox. Joe goes back home to the grand house he purchased for his family when his career was going well. He listens to the same music he and Ruth listened to the night they danced and decides to write her a cheque to help her out. He encloses with the cheque a letter, which has a special phrase written in it "shake your hair girl with your ponytail, takes me right back....." from the song they shared the night they met. When Joe's sister gives it to her, Ruth instantly breaks down crying. Brought down to Earth by his friend's death and Ruth's grief, Joe heads back to Los Angeles and is met by his personal assistant, with whom he starts talking about his possibilities as an actor in the future.

Tags: flashback

Review:
Although Flashbacks of a Fool is Daniel Craig's pet project  he's the film's executive producer as well as its star  it actually contains surprisingly little of the blonde hunk (though for the ladies out there, you do, admittedly, get to see his bum).Craig plays Joe Scott, a movie star who has plenty of money and sexual satisfaction in his life, one which - when he is not indulging in coke-addled rumpy pumpy at least - is mostly spent looking out to the sea from his minimalist cliff-top pad.Yet he has no real friends and seemingly no real future  "there's no role for you ANYWHERE," his agent tells Joe, a moment after he has seen his client throw his prized mobile phone out of a restaurant window.As Joe begins to wonder what has happened to his life, we are taken back to his adolescent days of first love on the quiet English seaside, to discover what this Brit has in fact been trying to hide from with a life of debauchery and excess in LA.Even a fan of this film should be able see why some might find it slow and slightly dull, as it does rely on the viewer sharing in a sense of glory in the mystical power of great records, the tragic romance of nostalgia and regret, and the theme of washed-up stardom.Perhaps that provides limited scope for the film to garner a wide audience, but for those who can find true enjoyment from subtle portrayals of youth and humanity as much as from the more obvious merits of rapid plot progression that will matter little.
"The person that's got everything has nothing" and this movie kind of explains one way of looking at it (in my opinion).In a materialistic influenced world we live in it can be easy to fall into how believing happiness and wellbeing comes only from having all the things wealth can bring i.e. the clean cut minimalist house walking out onto the white sand overlooking a beautiful serene sea, a selection of gleaming new sports cars, the tailored clothes etc etc.
But I guess for some people who have reached this place/goal in their life have focused on the goal so much that they've forgotten where they've come from and what they may have been running from.Now what this gem of a movie does is carefully and meticulously unravel the story of a troubled man in this very situation, dealing with the daemons of his past, the spontaneous difficult decisions he had to make as a boy which has carved this stone cold embodiment of a man on the edge of existence.Now I'm not going to break down and dissect this film and give a whole rundown on how and why I think this is a great movie but I will say this.
The story of a nasty main character (amazing job from both Daniel Craig and Harry Eden) and showing the world that he lives in and lived in by slowly letting the viewer past his metaphorical protective wall while allowing the viewer to piece together how and why he is the way he is, is presented exquisitely.I don't want to give anything away on the plot and story but I have to say there where two parts that absolutely blew me away and I'll just give you a vague hint.
Just enjoy the story that is being told because it's been executed very well.PS: I would have given this a 10 but wanted other readers to take this review seriously as I do love the art of storytelling, especially a good movie and it's unfortunate that there's too many marketing teams pushing up star ratings here on IMDb.Thanks for reading my first review and I hope you enjoy "Flashbacks of a Fool" as much as I did..
The 'flashback' tales us to Joe's teenage years (the young Joe is Harry Eden) with Boots as his closest friend and Ruth (Felicity Jones), the girl Joe craves.
Daniel Craig and Harry Eden are excellent in their mirrored roles of the young and the older Joe. In fact there is not a weak member of this fine British cast.
Though the story takes place in England the film was shot in South Africa (cinematographer John Mathieson) and the rickety beach houses on the small bay where Boots and Joe spend their time is picturesque and adds the right sense of isolation to the story.
Well, it is but only in the first minutes of the film, what you'll see here is his childhood.After the death of his best friend, Joe Scott sits back and in a extended flashback the movie shows us how he was as a teenager and how life was in the 70's.The story is very interesting and the movie was beautifully shot and the musical score couldn't be more appropriated(just ignore that final music when the credits roll over).There's also a lip sync scene you won't forget.
Sure it sometimes moves at a snail's pace, and suffers from an extremely incoherent third act, yet despite the movie's biggest problems, it's the things that Walsh does right that makes Flashbacks such an enjoyable drama for anyone that likes to explore the darker sides of human desire.A story with three distinct, crudely sewn together acts, Flashbacks of a Fool tells the story of a has-been actor, now spending most of his days drinking, doing drugs and paying women to sleep with him.
Opening with current day Joe Scott (Daniel Craig) the movie introduces us to the waster in a very poignant and effective first act that details Joe's incessant need for indulgence at the expense of everyone around him.
Of course, we know instinctively where it's all going to go, and Walsh's script sometimes gets caught up in details involving this development, but in turn it is these details that give Flashbacks its heart and soul.The details I'm referring to of course are little things called characters; Walsh makes sure to keep Flashbacks of a Fool rich in characterization, by using only a minimum ensemble.
Nevertheless, with a wonderful ensemble cast mostly comprising of minor-star English talents, Flashbacks isn't just a powerful, and relevant story told with three dimensional characters; the cast themselves embody their personas effectively and with great consistency, at least until the third act.
Instead of focusing attention on the central figures, too much time is devoted to the comings and goings of various peripheral characters and Joe's seduction by a sluttish neighbor.Writer/director Baillie Walsh spins his narrative with high quality yarn, and the result goes well beyond interesting, and almost enters the territory of the exceptional.
At first I wouldn't have expected anything good from a movie with Daniel Craig, but I was more than pleasantly surprised by this story, when it took a turn.First surprise was the scene that triggers main Character Joe Scot's nervous breakdown, when his agent basically fires him (a brilliant performance from a perfectly vicious Mark Strong).
i wanted to watch this one for quite some time but as it wasn't released in Belgian theaters i had to wait for the DVD release first of all i loved the photography of that movie,the scenery is beautiful the way it was captured it looked great but it's not all look the movie itself is pretty real and sweaty at times,you can get into this character when he was young,well not always(the scene in the amusement park was pretty groce...)but most of the time,and the part CRAIG played As a washed up Hollywood star was done brilliantly.but then i'm a Daniel Craig fan so maybe i was bias,but anyway the greatest scene was at the end when she gets that letter it tore me apart,i really found it worth looking at..
If you didn't leave love behind in early 1970s UK then it's passable, nothing more.Daniel Craig cannot act, but in the context of this film it doesn't matter; the story, images, soundtrack and supporting cast just steamroller over such minor considerations.Now off to the attic to search for some vinyl..
( i urge my American friends to try to get hold of both movies if they can) So it's strange that twenty years later a film can come along and have a similar affect on me today , as it did then , a month before i hit the big 40.Joe Scot (Daniel Craig) is a washed up Hollywood star, whose hedonistic lifestyle of sex, drugs, and celebrity has taken its toll.
His budding sexuality, his boyhood camaraderie, the untoward advances of a voluptuous older woman, and his teenage actions lead to unforeseen, tragic consequences, which will ultimately force him to flee in search of a new life.A melancholic look at one man's life and how the choices he made as a young man would go on to effect his later years as a beaten and forgotten Hollywood star.Forget that the lead actor is Daniel Craig .
It really does not matter that " bond" is in the lead role because he is only a small fraction of what makes this film what it is is .Flashback of a Fool is definitely one of my movies of the year and the credit has to go to the director and writer Baillie Walsh .This film is beautifully shot and looks stunning both on the east coast of America and in countryside of England.Seldom have i seen so many stunning acting displays in one film and special mention must go to Harry Eden who plays a young Joe Scot and Claire Forlani who plays Ruth Davies and Daniel Craig is superb too, in fact all three's performances had me close to tears.Regular reader of my blogs will know that i can be quite critical of some of the movies i review but in this case i cannot find a bad word to say about it .This is a must see movie!
Walsh may think a good taste in music and architecture and Daniel Craig walking around like John Wayne with hemorrhoids makes a great film but he is sorely mistaken.
This leaves the bookend section back in the present day feeling like it should be touching and moving while also failing to be.Visually I really liked the film because it has a very professional gloss on it with plenty of good shots that one would perhaps expect from a music video director.
Daniel Craig's character is supposedly a 'washed up' actor who will return to his boyhood English town to face his demons in the guise of those family and friends he has 'wronged.' Funny thing is the script delivers little or none of this.
A good director constructs his movie to play out the chosen story in a way that suits the telling and the characters.
You will enjoy a refreshingly interesting piece of real cinema.I have one question - the young Joe Scot is reported on IMDb as having been acted by Emile Robert but elsewhere the part is credited to Harry Eden, who gave a superb performance in Pure.
The casting, acting, scenery - at points like a picture postcard - you have to see it on the big screen but I will be purchasing the DVD when released, script (although at one point i was beginning to think the sex was rather gratuitous and wondered where the plot was heading which is also fabulous as it means the film was not entirely predictable), the soundtrack - I put on my Bryan Ferry CDs when I got home (cool), the tripyness of the whole visiting glamorous Miami lifestyle versus British country quaint and modern day adulthood against 70s innocence.
I look forward to seeing what else can be done.Daniel CRAIG was stunning in the role, and brought it to life by showing us something we haven't seen in him too often - the sadder/nastier character - although his physique was maybe a little too perfect to make the decadent, fast living, hedonistic junkie completely believable - although I will forgive him for this!
I look forward to seeing what else can be done.Daniel CRAIG was stunning in the role, and brought it to life by showing us something we haven't seen in him too often - the sadder/nastier character - although his physique was maybe a little too perfect to make the decadent, fast living, hedonistic junkie completely believable - although I will forgive him for this!
I would have liked to see the link showing how young Joe became an actor but understand there is a limit to how long a film can reasonably be.Similarly to NOTES ON A SCANDAL and THE MOTHER - this for me was the kind of film that I could enjoy over and over and each time still feel that I am a seeing something I shouldn't - like a secret - and watching every delicious moment without being noticed myself..
I would have liked to see the link showing how young Joe became an actor but understand there is a limit to how long a film can reasonably be.Similarly to NOTES ON A SCANDAL and THE MOTHER - this for me was the kind of film that I could enjoy over and over and each time still feel that I am a seeing something I shouldn't - like a secret - and watching every delicious moment without being noticed myself..
The flashbacks are fairly run-of-the-mill stuff: typically clueless teenage boy finds himself lusted after by two glamorous young women determined to strip him of his innocence (less typical, perhaps, of real life, but common in coming of ages stories usually written, one suspects, by men, dreaming of an adolescence they never actually experienced).
Thus begins 2008's Flashbacks of a Fool, a really quite involving British drama from a music video-director turned film maker in Baillie Walsh about an actor from England living the high-life, but on the road to ruin, in America's vacuous; sin strewn; sun drenched avenues of Los Angeles.
Begin to lop a dragon's tail off and he won't notice, not, that is until it begins to get perilously close to his actual body; herein lies our lead's scenario, and an event from the outside world coming to force him to identify this has the film eventually come to play out as a rather fascinating film.Daniel Craig plays Joe Scott, the aforementioned actor and titular fool, whom we see for the first time engaging in a coke and alcohol fuelled sex binge with two other women within his luxurious L.A. home.
Disagreements ensue, general alienation with L.A. and its people seems to be coming out in physical form on Scott's behalf before the film's catalyst in the form of a phone-call arrives from back home in England.The film's body is made up of those titular flashbacks, a harking back to 1970s seaside Britain and a young Joe Scott played by teenaged actor Emile Robert, as he goes through this patch of life as an adolescent existing with his male friends; girl friends; family and neighbours.
One day; all of the lies, cheating and animosity comes to culminate in a devastating act which shakes the characters inhabiting this small town to each of their cores.Craig plays the part to a tee; his own going on to somewhat dominate American acting circles and the international film circuit, particularly in the form of the James Bond franchise, in recent years keeps Flashbacks of a Fool on an effective and constantly grounded curb as Craig himself essentially returns to Britain so as to engage in the producing of a home-based film.
It is also an old fashioned love story.Daniel Craig is excellent as a faded almost washed up film star who must go back to his home town after 25 years for a funeral.
His life, that of copious amounts of cocaine use, an abundance of loose sex with beautiful women, expensive wine and no real connection to anything just isn't going well allegedly.Meet young Joe Scott, the star of the second act and most of the film played by Harry Eden who delivers a powerful performance exploring the romanticism of the female and her sexual fruits for most of the film.
Joe as a teenage boy supplies the detail and meaning for act one, the cause of a washed up crackhead years down the track.Written and directed by Baillie Walsh who has a sterling resume of involvement in music producing previous documentaries on INXS, Oasis and Massive attack, develops in the story great nostalgic rhythms created by a host of details but the soundtrack especially, a dilemma of David Bowie and early Roxy music.
With some eventful appearances from Eve, Mark Strong and Gina Athans (see below) its worth watching just for the off chance the film incites some feeling in you lost by the bashing of hollywoods seasonal crap.Just one of the women Joe Scott penetrates The ending ties the first two acts together, barely and far too bluntly as if lacking closure to some (my girlfriends sister) but the emotional carry through from the middle defining point allows it to sublimely close, at least for me, being stoned does help.If you enjoy good music and diabolical sluts then you'll be stoked.
The film is a very well made and extremely well acted especially by Daniel Craig who proves yet again he's probably the best of any actor who's played James Bond.The problem here is the script which takes way too long to get going.
As a result of the illicit love making, there is a tragedy that will change the way Joe faces life and his becoming a hard man trying to pay for his own mistake.Baillie Walsh is the creator of the film as well as its director.
after attending his old friends funeral he goes back to his crazy life.this movie has nothing to see in it.Daniel Craig is worst at acting in this like he does in his James bond films.