Customer Reviews

Incendiary [Blu-ray]

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

This film took me by the heart. To me this was a film about a mother's love for her son, an all consuming love. To me, it had little to do with terrorism, fidelity, or a who done it mystery. Michele Williams is stupendous in the role of the young mother - she has no name in the film, just the young mother. The cinematography is outstanding. The sound recorded perfectly. And the story line was just wonderful. I felt the young mother's pain of losing her son.

There are movies where the camera work is poor, good, or remarkable. This film is shot in that very small percentage of remarkable films. The opening sequences with the mother and her son on the beach are simply gorgeous, visually and audibly. They are flashed back many times during the film, and are so welcome. The director made the visual and sound so unique that even an out of focus view, virtually all tan; or the sound without the image; evokes the memory of that sequence. Framing is so well done. The director of photography got almost every scene on the mark - characters on the strong and weak sides of the frame, leading diagonals, color, movement - all done beautifully.

The trailer for this film is so misleading. It looks like some treatise on terrorism, infidelity, a police cover up, a terrorism mystery...the film is none of these things. In fact they are simply pretexts to better define what this mother felt. The quotes at the very end of the film (revealing them would be a spoiler for the film) are so pointed at exactly this - parenthood and a love for their child. If you are expecting what is seen in the trailer, this film will be a huge disappointment.

Michele Williams (The United States of Leland and The Station Agent) is simply gorgeous in this film. During this film, she transforms from a mild mother, to a sweet housewife, to a crazed person. She is beautiful with her clothes on and off. The scene on the couch with her and Ewan McGregor is somewhat explicit and absolutely gorgeous. That particular moment was very strange, in that you know she is married, but her husband has somehow become a non-person in the movie. And the Ewan McGregor character is so much more perfect, or more charismatic. Their coupling just doesn't seem wrong somehow. It's not a moral situation (right or wrong), or played that way; it just is. The later scenes of her son are so much stronger after this moment occurs.

Strangely this film has not enjoyed much popularity, success, or release. Shown at Sundance in 2008; quietly in limited theatrical release in early 2009; and just recently released on DVD. I would blame that all on very poor marketing. The DVD cover art almost gets it right.

At one hour forty minutes, it is exactly the right length; pacing is perfect. The movie is rated R due to the scene with Jasper and the young wife. There's a bit of gore at the blown up football stadium. Very little strong language. The DVD includes almost no special features - the horrible trailer, and a set of very high quality still photographs done up in slideshow format. Focus is entirely on the movie.

I'm surprised this film isn't more loved by more people. This one touched me very deeply and I loved Michele Williams and Ewan McGregor's performances. The cinematography and sound is outstanding. The script was so wonderful - the voice over narration was so good.

"Incendiary" is not only a unique and wonderful story, its captivating!

I'm happy to see at least a few good reviews here, because the movie does'nt seem to be that well known, yet.

While on vacation this past week, I rented a slew of movies, "Reservation Road", "Defiance", "He's Just Not That Into You", "Doubt" along with "Incendiary". All those other movies were good, but they were exactly what I was expecting them to be. "Incendiary" was one of the last movies I watched and it turned out to be the best. In fact it was one of the best movies I've seen in awhile and I watch alot of movies.

I wasn't completely sold on Michele Willams, but Ewan McGregor drew me in and his role ended up being a rather small one. It's a great movie with alot of heart and raw emotion in it, Michelle Williams is the main focus of the movie and she doesn't disappoint.

This is another one of those movies that has a slow build up and it just keeps building up until the climax.

"Incendiary" is based off the book by Chris Cleave, which was originally released right around or on the same day as the July 7th, 2005 London subway terrorist attacks. Follow this link to the book- Incendiary

Highly recommended movie!!

I hate to admit I was tricked into ordering as many as I did because of the description, trailer and preliminary "thriller" reviews. I'll make this a two part review to be as fair as possible, one part on the mis-marketing and the other on the Blu-Ray product (small spoilers).

The story covers loads of grief, emotions and loss as a woman (Michelle Williams) loses her son and husband in a major terrorist explosion in London. Coincidentally, she is having a tryst (with Ewan McGregor) whilst her family is killed. With extensive flashbacks of her son, coupled together with three other distinct story lines, we get spattered with some bad writing and abbreviated conclusions.

Marketing: The trailer shows the only 80 seconds of activity in the whole film (outside of the sex scene). Case description: "...and discovers the authorities will do anything to cover up the terrifying truth behind it." Once you watch the film you realize how incorrect that statement is. Between being pushed as a thriller and my customers thinking it would be a conspiracy/semi-action film, I think one's expectations should be a little different as to alleviate any disappointment. There is lots of melancholy, sadness, beach footage, regret and a 1000 memorial blimps - not much else.

The Blu looked crisp, but very little color gets used. The clarity did show a variety of errors, including blatant crew reflections in vehicles (not brief either) and the CGI failings during the one stadium sequence. The DTS gets used best during the explosion sequence but not much else except some classical music mix. No extras to speak of, except a brief photo gallery of cast and crew.

There are both adequate and poor/minimal performances, a somewhat graphic sex scene that gets spoiled, and numerous shortcomings in the story that detract from what sounded like an excellent book. I would recommend it as a rental, maybe an owner for those Michelle fans, but overall this did little as a Blu product.

Dear Osama," "They say that life is what happens when you're busy making other plans. Do you find that, sitting in your cave with your Kalashnikov?" Michelle Williams plays a young London woman who is trying to piece her life together after a tragedy. If ever there was a one woman show, this is it, even though there are other actors. I gave this film 4 stars because of her acting.

For some reason this young woman remains married to a man who gives her little attention. She is beautiful and resilient and keeps their marriage and their much beloved son together, for what, I can only imagine. She begins the narrative on this film talking about her son and she tells us she will explain soon. On a fine day, husband and son go off the latest Arsenal/Chelsea game. The young woman meets up with her next door neighbor, they had a one night affair and again the attraction and they meet and well.... All Hell has broken loose and a terrorist attack occurs and husband and son are not coming home.;. Young mum convinces the next door neighbor, a journalist for a London paper, to take her to the site and in the middle of this, she is injured. To top this doozy of a film off, her husband worked for a government anti-terrorist group. His supervisor tries to take care of the young woman. In the meantime the young journalist has found information of a government secret. In and out and about the story goes with no where to settle.

This could have been a wonderful film with more of a story. We have to fill in too many bits and pieces. Michelle Williams is the story but that is not enough for this film. I loved the essence of this film, and what it could have said.

Recommended. prisrob 09-01-09

Wendy and Lucy

A Hole in One

I watched this movie twice I loved it so much. When I first selected it, I thought it would be another terrorist movie and just needed something mindless to watch while I waited for time to pass...boy was I surprised! This is an excellent movie, give it a try you won't be disappointed. Michelle Williams is beyond fantastic.

I never expect a movie based on a book to be true to the book, and indeed, that is the case here -- but this movie is worth seeing on its own merits. I finished the book yesterday and watched the movie today -- they are like distant cousins, one reminiscent of the other with some memories of shared experiences, but if you're looking for the book in the movie, you will be disappointed.

Plot summaries abound in other reviews so I won't take the time for that. Apparently the trailer is wildly off the mark, leading one to expect an action-packed, suspenseful government cover-up -- that is unfortunate, and I am very glad I never saw a trailer. Michelle Williams was wonderful as the grieving mother -- I cannot understand reviewers who have panned her, I thought she was really very good. Ewan McGreggor was fine, though his character really took a back seat (Jasper Black is a COMPLETELY different person in the book) but the movie wasn't really about him, it was about the mother and her grief. The 11-year-old boy subplot which was added I thought contributed nicely to what this movie was trying to convey -- purists hoping for a good novel-to-screen transfer will disagree, but those scenes with the boy really enriched the movie.

I would definitely recommend the book -- there is a lot of black humor in the book which the scriptwriter did away with altogether -- just don't expect the book to be like the movie!

Get ready to watch Michelle Williams perform brilliantly with British accent and uncanny emotion in this film. She portrays a young housewife and a mother of a 4-year old boy. He marriage is strained by the fact that her husband works as a policeman in London's anti-terrorist unit difusing bombs. Her lack of marital bliss is enhanced by her unconditional, unlimited love for her son who she loves more than anything or anyone in this world.

On an impulse one night she has affair with a handsome, young journalist (Ewan McGregor) who also happens to live across the street from her. On the outside these two have nothing in common. This secret lover of hers is single, he lives in trendy London townhouse, drives fancy cars and has no commitments. But circumstances put them together a t the moment when both her husband and son face terrible fate. Consumed by grier, guilt and sorrow, she is trying to regain her own self. But her transformation leads more towards emotional meltdown and insanity than peace. Will anything her this young woman reclaim her life and be able to start over.

It is a heartbreaking story about human nature, mother's love for child and need to love and be loved. I adored this film.

This film is based loosely on the novel Incendiary by Chris Cleave. The film is well done but not great. The book is able to explore class conflicts and is full of dark humor whereas the film emphasizes the romantic quest of Jasper Black and Terrance Butcher for the heroine's affections. Michelle Williams displays her considerable acting talents as a mother and wife who loses both her husband and child in a terrorist bombing in London. But we see that it was not a totally satisfying marriage since her husband is emotionally distant from her. Her husband works on the police bomb squad and is a bomb himself since he is emotionally suppressed and non-communicative with his wife, leaving her in a state of anxiety that she finds can be relieved by sexual trysts with men she meets in local pubs. It is the loss of her child that is defeating her, destroying her emotional balance, and Williams plays the part very well. But as she recovers two very different men begin to court her, even though she continually has flashbacks of the bombing and thus spends much time and energy trying to stop both men from becoming attached to her. She meets a smooth operator in Jasper Black, a newspaper editorial writer. She is also courted by Terrance Butcher, her husband's supervisor's supervisor in the police department and the head of anti-terrorism efforts. The film gives us several references to the great fire in London and to the bombings during World War II. The character played by Michelle Williams is very resilient, even exploring the family of one of the terrorist and empathizing with the 10 year old son of the terrorist. Parallel to the theme of terrorism is a romantic theme of two men trying to court the same woman and the stakes get pretty nasty. Despite the terror the film would indicate that live goes on, that people remain wounded but functional and even can grow to love again. The character played by Michelle Williams eventually displays this resiliency with her final lines in the film where she says: "Come to be Osama. Come to me and we will blow the world back together WITH INCREDIBLE NOISE AND FURY."

Incendiary features a stunning performance by Michelle Williams, on a level with the likes of Meryl Streep, Cate Blanchet, etc. Williams portrays a young woman from the East End of London (apparently a working class neighborhood.) Her husband and 4 yr old son are killed in a suicide bombing that happens during a soccer game, claiming the lives of over 1,000 people.

Ironically, her husband is a member of the police force bomb squad. Tragically, her son is an exceptionally bright and loving boy, also wonderfully played by Sidney Johnston. The relationship between mother and son is extremely touching, and the loss of her child is heart-breaking. The loss of the husband (who had plenty of affection for his son and none for his wife) cannot compare.

To complicate matters, at the very moment the bombing occurs, the mother is having sex with a friend/neighbor, a journalist (Ewan McGregor) who ends up investigating one of the bombers.

In this post 9/11 decade with the supposed "war on terror" casting suspicions and bigotry right and left, the actions of Williams' character are amazing. She locates the widow of the bomber, and meets and befriends the bomber's son, who still believes his father is alive. Her courage and humanity know no bounds, especially as demonstrated in the letter she writes to Osama bin Laden (an exercise recommended by her grief therapy counselor.)

A touching film worth seeing, especially for the unexpectedly amazing talent of Michelle Williams. 5 stars for her, 4+ for the film

Yet another pointless movie that I didn't enjoy. Why do they keep making this trash? The three main characters (loose woman, sleazy reporter, policeman) are all worthless human beings - pure anti-heroes, that we are supposed to feel empathy for. Right? Wrong! What's more I found much of the film disorientating and confusing. I've heard the book is better (well, it can't be worse) which is why I think the movie was so confusing in parts - I mean, is the son there or not? It is a dream or are we in the woman's head? Yeah, I get the message - terrorism is nasty and it ruins lives, but terrorists are also people with thoughts and motivations. Get this message movie makers - make something to be enjoyed, not to be depressed about. For the cast involved in this movie, it is a very disappointing result. I'd give it a miss!