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Rat
Universal // PG // October 16, 2001
List Price: $26.98 [Buy now and save at Amazon]
THE STRAIGHT DOPE:
The last decade has seen a non-stop stream of sentimental films painting Irish and Scottish villagers as quirky, clever, cute fellas, whether they be stripping coal miners, horn blowing coal miners, high-kicking dancers, or marijuana growers. Finally someone has made a film that turns one of these adorably gruff Irishmen into a hairy rodent. Rat is the latest film from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles auteur Steve Barron. The story wastes no time getting to the main gimmick: Pete Postlethwaite's Hubert Flynn turns into a rat mere minutes after the opening. The bulk of the film concerns his family's attempts to figure out what to do. Wife Concita (Imelda Staunton) wants to make money off a book deal, son Pius (Andrew Lovern) wants to kill dear old dad, and daughter Marietta (Kerry Condon) just wants to love him, whiskers and all. The predictably batty Guinness-soaked neighbors all find the Flynn clan a curious lot and the hilarity mounts to a satisfyingly happy ending. The film doesn't aim high in its storytelling, so it doesn't fall on it's face either. The portrayal of the family as a diverse bunch of nogoodniks is sincere and the twists and turns are fine. It's just that Rat leaves a big question mark in the air when the credits roll. Like, why make the film at all? A lot of effort went into making the rat a believable creature, with a combination of trained animals and a healthy assist from Jim Henson's puppet building tricksters, plus the camera work is often inspired and stylistically interesting. The opening narration touches on the kind of Irish countryside mysticism in which John Sayles soaked his The Secret of Roan Inish, but Rat never fully opens up to the magic and wonder that made Sayles' film such a masterpiece of innocence and discovery. The performances are all fine. Postlethwaite (an excellent actor) spends most of the movie in rat form, so his effective performance is limited to the beginning and end. Staunton distills the down-home spunk of Brenda Blethyn to its basics and adds a touch of Disney-style cartoon humor. Condon and Lovern are very good as the kids, both conveying their different, if uncomplicated, feelings about their father's predicament. In all this may be a fine film for kids who enjoy Babe or Shrek, films with some adult humor and a touch of mysticism. There are a few tense moments as well as some adult language (although American kids may not be familiar with "shite") but overall the lesson here (to love your family above all) is one that travels across ages as well as species. VIDEO:
The anamorphic video is fine. Colors are a bit muted, a palette that effectively, if somewhat predictably, indicates the humble locations. The picture is crisp and the complex cinematography is rendered well. AUDIO:
The Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack is also good. The sound mix is subtle and effective, using little details to help construct the story. A French track is also included, as are subtitles. EXTRAS:
A surprisingly good batch of extras is included. First, director Steve Barron and lead actress Imelda Staunton (uncredited) provide a lively and entertaining commentary. In some ways, the commentary is more fun than the movie. Some of their stories of shooting on location are great, like the little old lady who allowed them to location scout her house and then asked much it would cost her to have them shoot their film there. They obviously fell in love with their neighbors and have fond memories of the shoot. A Behind the Rat video introduces the cast and crew and details some of the production process, including the unusual cinematography, like the use of the snorklecam and the monkeycam, as well as some very funny material introducing the various mechanical rats. Casting the Rat includes footage from the casting sessions for the live rats, a feature you probably won't see on many other DVDs this year. A trailer and some notes and bios are also included. FINAL THOUGHTS:
Rat is lacking a little something that could have made it much better. There isn't a sense of urgency, that the story was so unique that it needed to be told. For those without high expectations (or who haven't seen similar films before) there is a lot to like: a perky cast, fine camera work, some neat effects. Still, I couldn't shake the feeling that even the filmmakers didn't know why the film needed to be made. The finest fairy tale films, like Roan Inish or Babe give the impression that their makers were in as much awe of the films' charms as the audience. Rat doesn't quite achieve that. E-mail Gil at [email protected]
The last decade has seen a non-stop stream of sentimental films painting Irish and Scottish villagers as quirky, clever, cute fellas, whether they be stripping coal miners, horn blowing coal miners, high-kicking dancers, or marijuana growers. Finally someone has made a film that turns one of these adorably gruff Irishmen into a hairy rodent. Rat is the latest film from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles auteur Steve Barron. The story wastes no time getting to the main gimmick: Pete Postlethwaite's Hubert Flynn turns into a rat mere minutes after the opening. The bulk of the film concerns his family's attempts to figure out what to do. Wife Concita (Imelda Staunton) wants to make money off a book deal, son Pius (Andrew Lovern) wants to kill dear old dad, and daughter Marietta (Kerry Condon) just wants to love him, whiskers and all. The predictably batty Guinness-soaked neighbors all find the Flynn clan a curious lot and the hilarity mounts to a satisfyingly happy ending. The film doesn't aim high in its storytelling, so it doesn't fall on it's face either. The portrayal of the family as a diverse bunch of nogoodniks is sincere and the twists and turns are fine. It's just that Rat leaves a big question mark in the air when the credits roll. Like, why make the film at all? A lot of effort went into making the rat a believable creature, with a combination of trained animals and a healthy assist from Jim Henson's puppet building tricksters, plus the camera work is often inspired and stylistically interesting. The opening narration touches on the kind of Irish countryside mysticism in which John Sayles soaked his The Secret of Roan Inish, but Rat never fully opens up to the magic and wonder that made Sayles' film such a masterpiece of innocence and discovery. The performances are all fine. Postlethwaite (an excellent actor) spends most of the movie in rat form, so his effective performance is limited to the beginning and end. Staunton distills the down-home spunk of Brenda Blethyn to its basics and adds a touch of Disney-style cartoon humor. Condon and Lovern are very good as the kids, both conveying their different, if uncomplicated, feelings about their father's predicament. In all this may be a fine film for kids who enjoy Babe or Shrek, films with some adult humor and a touch of mysticism. There are a few tense moments as well as some adult language (although American kids may not be familiar with "shite") but overall the lesson here (to love your family above all) is one that travels across ages as well as species. VIDEO:
The anamorphic video is fine. Colors are a bit muted, a palette that effectively, if somewhat predictably, indicates the humble locations. The picture is crisp and the complex cinematography is rendered well. AUDIO:
The Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack is also good. The sound mix is subtle and effective, using little details to help construct the story. A French track is also included, as are subtitles. EXTRAS:
A surprisingly good batch of extras is included. First, director Steve Barron and lead actress Imelda Staunton (uncredited) provide a lively and entertaining commentary. In some ways, the commentary is more fun than the movie. Some of their stories of shooting on location are great, like the little old lady who allowed them to location scout her house and then asked much it would cost her to have them shoot their film there. They obviously fell in love with their neighbors and have fond memories of the shoot. A Behind the Rat video introduces the cast and crew and details some of the production process, including the unusual cinematography, like the use of the snorklecam and the monkeycam, as well as some very funny material introducing the various mechanical rats. Casting the Rat includes footage from the casting sessions for the live rats, a feature you probably won't see on many other DVDs this year. A trailer and some notes and bios are also included. FINAL THOUGHTS:
Rat is lacking a little something that could have made it much better. There isn't a sense of urgency, that the story was so unique that it needed to be told. For those without high expectations (or who haven't seen similar films before) there is a lot to like: a perky cast, fine camera work, some neat effects. Still, I couldn't shake the feeling that even the filmmakers didn't know why the film needed to be made. The finest fairy tale films, like Roan Inish or Babe give the impression that their makers were in as much awe of the films' charms as the audience. Rat doesn't quite achieve that. E-mail Gil at [email protected]
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