Post by EarlyBird on May 30, 2008 6:52:27 GMT 9.5
Contains a few spoilers. Found a puffball review, says Mabs apparently has twins already and then another daughter. And kind of explains Liffey miscarries but a twin survives inside her. Interesting stuff. But the person didn't seem to like it much. And the murderous intent I suspect is Mabs wanting to do away with Liffey.
PUFFBALL PUFFBALL
Independent Film
UK/Ireland/Canada
Advisory Content for Parents
Drama/Fantasy/Mystery
120 minutes
2 stars
It doesn’t take long before the viewer gives up any attempt to fathom what the heck is going on in Puffball (including the significance of the title) which describes itself as an “erotic thriller,” though the eroticism is confined to a bit of female nudity and a few simulations of rough sex while the only thrill is the sight of the end credits (signaling the worst is over). Who would have expected such disappointment from Nicolas Roeg (with decades of cinematography and directing credits under his belt)? If the title hadn’t already been taken, this movie could have been more truly called, Dazed and Confused.
The story (and this is at best a rough attempt to discern one) revolves around Liffey (Kelly Reilly, better than her nonsensical role), an architect who has left her job (no reason given why) to restore an “old cottage” she has purchased in Ireland with the assistance of a group of Polish workmen (huh?) and the support of her boyfriend Richard (Oscar Pearce, earnestly sincere). The family next door consists of a spying mother, Molly (Rita Tushingham, in a performance less scary than stiff), her boisterous yet supposedly yearning daughter Mabs (Miranda Richardson, talent wasted), lusty, handy son-in-law Tucker (William Houston, mostly confused as to the direction of his role), and the ominously silent/staring grand daughter Audrey (Leona Igoe, who appears to understand the convoluted plot but unfortunately keeps it to herself). Two other personages are Molly’s daughter/Mabs’ sister, the sneaky, tart tongued Carol (Tina Kellaher, one dimensional) and Liffey’s boss, Lars (Donald Sutherland, fine as usual but his part seems to belong to another picture altogether).
Uniting this cast of mostly uninteresting/less than compelling characters is the question of fertility. Yes, fertility. Mabs desperately wants a son (she has twin girls in addition to Audrey) but the town doctor says there’s nothing to be done at her age. However, ready to help is her mother, Molly, who possesses all sorts of arcane knowledge and practices. She also hears a child speaking, as does the viewer, though she additionally sees the baby (apparently a male) – there’s a brief shot implying a boy died in the cottage years ago (an attempt to explain Molly’s actions? Make her sane? Explain the little shoes in the wall?). At any rate there’s lots of esoteric/mystical/mythological/whatever mumbo jumbo thrown in – straw hex dolls, a Norse stone with a hole supposedly viewing heaven, bottles of spiked wine, a foul smelling plant root, a large/white/egg-like thingamabob occasionally translucent and prophetic, and bouts of crazed sexual congress, not to mention much murderous intent. In the mix, and key, too, is Liffey’s pregnancy (despite being a careful practitioner of safe sex) whereby she miscarries but discovers the survival of an undetected twin. Not enough? Then add inserts of star laden skies (astrology?) and internal human reproductive processes.
To repeat, how could Nicolas Roeg have gone so astray? Of course, Dan Weldon’s script, based on a Fay Weldon novel (given the similar name, is he a relation), is no model of clarity. Still, when even a film’s subtitle, in this case The Devil’s Eyeball, only adds further confusion, there’s little hope of coherence or enjoyment.
Puffball – No praise (“puff”) for a movie that misses the mark (“ball”) debut.
Review by Charles Zio
PUFFBALL PUFFBALL
Independent Film
UK/Ireland/Canada
Advisory Content for Parents
Drama/Fantasy/Mystery
120 minutes
2 stars
It doesn’t take long before the viewer gives up any attempt to fathom what the heck is going on in Puffball (including the significance of the title) which describes itself as an “erotic thriller,” though the eroticism is confined to a bit of female nudity and a few simulations of rough sex while the only thrill is the sight of the end credits (signaling the worst is over). Who would have expected such disappointment from Nicolas Roeg (with decades of cinematography and directing credits under his belt)? If the title hadn’t already been taken, this movie could have been more truly called, Dazed and Confused.
The story (and this is at best a rough attempt to discern one) revolves around Liffey (Kelly Reilly, better than her nonsensical role), an architect who has left her job (no reason given why) to restore an “old cottage” she has purchased in Ireland with the assistance of a group of Polish workmen (huh?) and the support of her boyfriend Richard (Oscar Pearce, earnestly sincere). The family next door consists of a spying mother, Molly (Rita Tushingham, in a performance less scary than stiff), her boisterous yet supposedly yearning daughter Mabs (Miranda Richardson, talent wasted), lusty, handy son-in-law Tucker (William Houston, mostly confused as to the direction of his role), and the ominously silent/staring grand daughter Audrey (Leona Igoe, who appears to understand the convoluted plot but unfortunately keeps it to herself). Two other personages are Molly’s daughter/Mabs’ sister, the sneaky, tart tongued Carol (Tina Kellaher, one dimensional) and Liffey’s boss, Lars (Donald Sutherland, fine as usual but his part seems to belong to another picture altogether).
Uniting this cast of mostly uninteresting/less than compelling characters is the question of fertility. Yes, fertility. Mabs desperately wants a son (she has twin girls in addition to Audrey) but the town doctor says there’s nothing to be done at her age. However, ready to help is her mother, Molly, who possesses all sorts of arcane knowledge and practices. She also hears a child speaking, as does the viewer, though she additionally sees the baby (apparently a male) – there’s a brief shot implying a boy died in the cottage years ago (an attempt to explain Molly’s actions? Make her sane? Explain the little shoes in the wall?). At any rate there’s lots of esoteric/mystical/mythological/whatever mumbo jumbo thrown in – straw hex dolls, a Norse stone with a hole supposedly viewing heaven, bottles of spiked wine, a foul smelling plant root, a large/white/egg-like thingamabob occasionally translucent and prophetic, and bouts of crazed sexual congress, not to mention much murderous intent. In the mix, and key, too, is Liffey’s pregnancy (despite being a careful practitioner of safe sex) whereby she miscarries but discovers the survival of an undetected twin. Not enough? Then add inserts of star laden skies (astrology?) and internal human reproductive processes.
To repeat, how could Nicolas Roeg have gone so astray? Of course, Dan Weldon’s script, based on a Fay Weldon novel (given the similar name, is he a relation), is no model of clarity. Still, when even a film’s subtitle, in this case The Devil’s Eyeball, only adds further confusion, there’s little hope of coherence or enjoyment.
Puffball – No praise (“puff”) for a movie that misses the mark (“ball”) debut.
Review by Charles Zio
