Among Giants (1998)

To me, this movie is perfection.

Simply A Masterpiece

Good story, Not enough for a whole film

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

As a drama set in working class Yorkshire, Among Giants certainly has its antecedants: The Fully Monty, with which it shares a screenwriter, Sheffield and an interest in full male nudity (which in this film, we actually get to see!); Brassed Off, which also featured Pete Poselthwaite, a collection of emotional but never histrionic performances, and a slightly charicatured depiction of free market economics; and sitting above them all, the memory of Ken Loach's Kes. The film lacks Loach's realism, and the plot is full of holes. Against that, both Poselthwaite and Rachel Griffiths are superb, and it's shot with a great feel for landscape, both inside and outside the city. It's not perfect, and it lacks the Monty's cheap selling points, but in spite of that, it's done with real feeling and is arguably the better film.

I did not know of the existence of this film until i saw it on a video preview. I rushed right out to hunt it down as Pete Postlethwaite and Rachel Griffiths are absolutely brilliant actors. I think it is fantastic that character actor Pete Postlethwaite, finally gets to play a romantic lead. There has always been something compelling and charismatic about him. Rachel Griffiths is perfect also. Forget your air-brushed, hollywood ideas of romance and sex, this is real, and sexy and uplifting at the same time.

I will begin by saying that Pete Postlethwaite and Rachel Griffiths are personal favorites. I initially thought I would like this film because they were in it. Not the case at all. I was impressed with the film because it cuts close to the bone of proletarian culture, a widespread proletarian culture of the overeducated and underemployed classes of the so called First World economies, or Northern economies. The film could as easily have been set in Oklahoma. There is a two-step dancing scene that makes this quite obvious. So, on the surface, the story of the older divorced man with the younger liberated single woman seems rather typical, often told. The lads, the pack of macho misfits, also provide much of the predictable bonded male nonsense. And, folks, it is realistic. That's the part that got under my skin. If you grew up in an American suburb and now live in a gated community or a condominium, it might be too painful for you to let some of the movie's message in. Yes, indeed, the few live on the backs of this many. And their lives do indeed reflect the burden. If you are willing to consider what is really happening behind the obvious of this work, I think you will be impressed too.

All of the negative and positive comments I have read about this film are true, but this film does stick with you--I saw it at 3am on HBO--and enjoyed it. In summary, I believe that the experience of seeing this film is filled with many contradictions, It's often slow and pointless but engaging in a weird way. I believe that the characters have depth, although they are not developed sufficiently in the film (I guess that we are free to fill in the details). Pete's in good shape for an old dude, but I don't want to see him frolicking about in the cooling tower, although it's beautifully shot and Rachel's with him. The tower painting is both boring and intriguing--I don't ever remember seeing anyone ever paint an electrical tower anywhere in this world. Do people really do this? It's a quirky film that will appeal to some, turn others off and not have too many people in between. Had I paid $10 to see it at a theater I might not have the same fondness, but it would still stick with me for a long time after words.