There is some awkward voice over at the beginning while
Dino Chalmers (Christina Ricci) films some teenagers dancing in the streets: “We
do not choose to be born, but can we choose to be free? Is anyone really free?”
Fortunately, that sort of clunky, juvenile narration is only used at the
beginning and the very end.
The film focuses on two characters – Dino and Liam
(Hunter Page-Lochard), the boy she was filming. Their very different lives are
set up clearly at the beginning, as the film follows each of them home. The
camera is hand-held as it follows Liam through his home, and the colors are
sort of darker yellows. In contrast, the camera work is much smoother and less
hurried when Dino arrives at her own home. And there is much more light as well
(which might seem happier, but is also less interesting, paler – and that is
telling too), as she shows her fiancé the footage she shot.
Their two very different worlds meet when Dino gets a job
teaching English and drama at the school Liam attends, a school that is likely
to close before the end of the year. She sees Liam outside her classroom,
recognizes him from her footage, and learns he’s supposed to be in her class.
She hands him a copy of Hamlet to entice him to attend.
Meanwhile, Liam’s father is in prison, his uncle killed,
and his brother vowing revenge. Liam feels an obligation to his family, but
wants to follow his own path. What creates a stronger connection between the
two worlds is the play Hamlet, which Dino is teaching her drama
students. The elements of revenge and family obligations and uncertainty all
play into Liam’s situation. Also, the uncle that was killed had been an actor
and had played Horatio and had always wanted to play Hamlet. So Liam’s
involvement in the play works as a way to connect both to an earlier time in
his childhood and to a family member who is gone, as well as a way to break
free from the paths of his father and older brother.
Hamlet is arguably the greatest artistic
achievement of the human race, and so it’s always interesting to see what
inspiration a film will draw from it, and how it will use it. Around The
Block makes excellent use of the themes of the play, and of course scenes
drawn straight from it, as we see auditions, rehearsals and so on. For fans of
the play, one thing I found odd is that in Liam’s callback and in the actual
production at the end, he drops the “Ay, there’s the rub” line from the
“To be or not to be” speech. But that line is what connects the previous
thought to his next thought. I am curious why the screenwriter chose to cut
that line.
There are some excellent performances in this film,
especially that of Hunter Page-Lochard, who plays Liam. Also impressive is
Ursula Yovich as Liam’s mother.
Special Features
The DVD has several special features, including a
commentary track by writer/director Sarah Spillane and production designer
Michael Fitzgerald. Sarah Spillane gives a bit of background on the Block,
which is interesting.
There is also Around The Block: Behind The Scenes,
an eighteen-minute featurette with footage of the production and interviews
with director Sarah Spillane, producer Brian Rosen, producer Su Armstrong,
editor Veronika Jenet, cinematographer Martin McGrath, composer Nick Wales, and
cast members Christina Ricci, Hunter Page-Lochard, Jack Thompson, Ursula
Yovich, Mark Coles Smith, Ruby Rose. Sarah Spillane and Hunter Page-Lochard
talk a bit about Hamlet. Spillane also talks about the budget and
schedule.
The special features also include four deleted scenes, a
music video and the theatrical trailer.
Around The Block was written and directed by Sarah
Spillane, and was released on DVD on August 5, 2014.
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