Bruce Robinson (1) (1946–)

Withnail and I is one of my favourite films. (Indeed I once snapped that it was my favourite to an obnoxious man in a job interview, after he'd patronisingly said my favourite must be a costume drama because I am a lady or something? I didn't get the job, which was definitely for the best.) This is the script, pure and simple. Reading it in a freezing cold living room at four in the afternoon, whilst wrapped in a sleeping bag and wearing gloves made from old socks, made me happy. It really is a masterpiece of cinema, just as easily enjoyed in paper form.… (more)

Thomas Penman grows up in a house where “there was a constant smell of meat cooking” and his grandfather “rode the toilet like a horse, facing the wall, and crept around in the attic with his penis out.” This is the first page, so you know the book is going to be good. And it doesn’t disappoint.

There are secrets in the house. About Thomas, but he doesn’t learn that for a while. His grandfather, despite his creeping about and massive pornography collection is perhaps his only confidant in the place. He’s kind to Thomas, and always tells him the truth.

Thomas soils his pants willfully and daily – until he decides to stop. Adolescence comes quickly. “One afternoon he was out drowning flies when he realised he was in love with Gwen Hackett.” And as Thomas matures, stops pooping his pants, making bombs, searching obsessively for his grandfather’s porn collection, Gwen Hackett, against all odds, comes to love Thomas.

Things are complicated in the house and between his parents. Tomas eventually learns the secret they’ve been keeping from his, just as his grandfather nears death and his relationship with Gwen takes a turn.

This is a wonderfully good and searingly serious and funny coming of age story.… (more)

“I’ve got a bad feeling about this. And I've been doing this too long to be wrong.” — Andy Garcia’s John Berlin

There is a quiet and haunting quality to this crime mystery which begins during the opening credits and is sustained to the very end. Andy Garcia rarely gets the spotlight he deserves but his low-key yet unmistakable charisma blends perfectly with the subdued thriller elements of this engrossing whodunit. As the lonely cop who leaves Los Angeles for the smaller Eureka after a messy divorce almost destroys him, Garcia excels. He seems to completely understand that this is a mood piece rather than an action thriller.

Uma Thurman, too often the centerpiece of Tarantino’s high octane and violent films, is marvelous here in the much quieter role of a shy blind girl who is as vulnerable to a serial killer as she is to Garcia’s unexpected attentions toward her.

John Berlin (Garcia) hasn't even clocked in when a body in the Eureka dump leads to a startling and more gruesome discovery: Garcia believes the body parts belong to one of the “Jennifers” of a serial murderer’s killing spree which has baffled law enforcement. But his view is not embraced. Even his old pal, portrayed by Lance Henrikson from Chris Carter’s Millenium, doesn't see the connection, and the new kid on the block must battle resentment to his presence, and the skepticism about his investigation as he tracks a killer.

Uma Thurman is wonderful as the blind Helena; the only person to have “seen” the serial murderer. Most of the best scenes in this film are in fact between Thurman and Garcia, who play well off of each other. The score by Christopher Young and intermittent songs by artists like Lenny Welch augment John’s growing love for Helena, and his fear for her life.

Kathy Baker, as John’s old pal Erikson’s wife, and John’s big sister of sorts, lends nice support in her role. Garcia’s cop is more like a C.S.I. than an action hero, lending a certain depth to his character. Director Bruce Robinson also wrote the screenplay for Scott Rudin’s production.

While Jennifer 8 becomes somewhat implausible towards the conclusion, as Director, Robinson never allows the atmosphere waver. The elements of snow and rain and nighttime are used to help create that atmosphere. Many loved this film and its atmosphere, but not all. Critics and moviegoers alike had strong reactions to this film on both ends of the star rating. Having seen this originally on the big screen in a theater, the chemistry between Garcia and Thurman, and a mood captured and maintained, made this one a big success as far as I was concerned.

Fans of the original C.S.I. from television will recognize elements and a mood sometimes found within that show. But Jennifer Eight was filmed years before. The final shot brings the viewer back nicely to the reason they’ve hung around till the end. If you like to pick apart plots, you probably won’t enjoy this as much as those who lean towards atmosphere. The R rating the film originally got stems from a couple of brief shots of Thurman topless in a bathtub, to highlight her vulnerability when a killer is nearby. Garcia and Thurman make a nice couple here, and the believability of their romance overcomes a few plot problems to make this a quietly terrific film.… (more)