Garage Days
Picture: B
Sound: B Extras: B- Film: B
Alex Proyas has been one of the most consistent filmmakers
of the last decade and films like Dark City (1998, reviewed elsewhere on
this site) and The Crow (1994, much sought after despite its production
problems and responsible for two awful sequels so far), but I always thought
there was something veiled in his early work that still held it back, despite
his talents. In this, Garage Days
(2002) turns out to be a new breakthrough for Proyas that may turn out to be
more important and profound that anyone expected.
Returning to some more basic filmmaking, Proyas co-wrote
the entertaining and energetic story of a would-be Rock band in Australia
trying to get a break to make it into the big time, but with several questions
at hand. Are they any good, do they
have any idea of what they are getting into, can they even think about this
with the decline in the band scene where they live, can they connect with the
right people, do those people exist, and can they leave their own lack of
cohesion on the side to be able to succeed.
That would very much be many of the questions in previous films on the
subject, including the very overrated and predictable Alan Parker film of The
Commitments (also reviewed elsewhere on this site), which tended to carry
some of the clichés of Parker’s work on Fame (1980) versus the savvy of Pink
Floyd – The Wall (1982) and is far from Stephen Frears’ grittier and more
convincing films of Roddy Doyle’s books The Snapper and The Van. The comedy and drama here are seamless
without any melodrama and is always convincing.
With that said, Proyas gets back to basics, and though the
band may not be an outright Punk band (we will not go into what kind of Rock
band they are), they are a group of characters that are interesting in their
own right. What makes the film really
work is that those characters are very well cast and both the actors and
characters do add up in very convincing ways.
You believe that these people have known each other for years and really
have grown on each other, that they all do share the same dream, and that they
all are together because they are willing to do what it takes to make things
happen for the long term and that in itself speaks character. Too bad they are not always as committed in
other key matters.
Kick Gurry is hilarious as Freddie, whose film this is by
virtue of his voice-over narration.
Though this has been abused very badly, particularly since Martin
Scorsese’s Goodfellas (1990) noticed by how too many of them sound too
much like that film, the voice over works here because it furthers the
narrative in ways that are not extraneous to the film. This is a problem for the majority of films
with voice-overs these days, but Proyas and his screenplay co-writers Dave
Warner (who wrote the original story with him) and Michael Udeski are working
on a much higher level here.
The most important thing about the film is that despite
the trouble the Rock genre itself is in right now, Rock and its spirit are far
from dead and no film in the last few years (give or take Richard Linklater’s
underrated School Of Rock, also reviewed elsewhere on this site) has
made a better point of this. The film
was barely released in the U.S., but this DVD will hopefully bring it the kind
of accolades and attention DVD justly gave to Richard Kelly’s Donnie Darko
(2001). It is one of those small,
special films that deserve wide discovery and Proyas’ huge success with his
fascinating I, Robot (2004) can only help.
Another great this about the DVD is the performance itself
of the picture, shot by the talented cinematographer Simon Duggan, who we first
noticed for his work on the cult favorite The Interview (also reviewed
elsewhere on this site) with Hugo Weaving in a thriller about a potential
killer. Duggan has a distinct style and
it is such a great match for Proyas’ work that they reunited on I, Robot. I am no fan of digital animation, but one
great plus to their work is that they only use digital when it is absolutely
necessary and a key part of the narrative.
The anamorphically enhanced 1.85 X 1 image is one of the best we have
seen on a film this year for recent theatrical releases on DVD, that is both
color consistent and detailed. We can
only hope the Proyas/Duggan partnership will continue, as it could be one of
the most important director/cameraman meetings in years.
The sound is only English in a Dolby Digital 5.1 mix that
is one of the better ones we have heard to date, yet DTS would have served this
film to far better effect. As compared
to the Spanish Dolby 2.0 Stereo with Pro Logic surrounds, it still has its
advantages. Besides the songs cleverly
picked for the film, David McCormack, Andrew Lancaster, and Antony Partos
deliver new music that brings out even more to the film. Having as team is unusual, but it offers
some good synthesis that makes this film even more rewatchable than it already
is.
Extras include an outstanding audio commentary by Proyas
that shows how much he knows what he is talking about, where too many directors
on commentaries, especially solo, often show how bad they are. The outtakes/goofs section is fun, but like
the deleted scenes also includes, should be seen after the film. They are on one side, while the awful pan
& scan copy of the film on the flipside of the DVD both has Behind The
Garage Door -Interviews (just over 7 minutes) with the cast and crew, plus
the Garage Days Backstage Pass piece (just over 4 minutes) that are
designed to promote the film, but still worth watching. That is a nice set for a single DVD.
Other great casting of unknowns (for now) include Pia
Miranda as Tanya, Maya Stange as Kate, Chris Sadrinna as Lucuis, Brett Stiller
as Joe, and Russell Dykstra as Bruno.
Some people will still have some issues with the sex and even drugs in
the film, but are you not sick of this being always a bad thing in automatic,
short cut, politically correct thinking?
That is why with all its energy and ideas, Garage Days is a
triumph and highly recommended.
- Nicholas Sheffo
