Beanbioca As Good As It Gets

BallWubba Wow! What a bizarre film! Unfortunately the few funny moments there were were quite overshadowed by it's completely weird and random vibe throughout.

FirstWitch A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

Neive Bellamy Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

TheRedDeath30 I've been working my way through some of the movies reviewed in the amazing book, HIDDEN HORROR, and this was one of those movies spotlighted, so I was looking forward to uncovering what might have been a lost gem. The movie features Sting (the Police man, not the wrestler) as a drifter, of sorts, who insinuates himself into the home of a small British family who have just been through a tragedy, as their daughter has been in an accident and is left helpless and immobile. The main focus of the movie is on the character played by Sting and his performance. He plays the character almost as twin faces of a mirror, at times exceedingly angelic, yet letting us glimpse the demon within. What "happens" in the movie is almost irrelevant, as most viewers will see the setup coming, because it's mostly about the characters and the themes presented.I'm all for intelligent films and I think I have a more open mind than most viewers, but the movie still has to be entertaining and make you care what's going to happen next. My biggest issue with the movie is the setting. It's origins as a stageplay are also its' limitations. Much like movies a half century before it, like Dracula, that were also based on plays the movie just comes across as claustrophobic and boxed in. Yes, that plays to the themes somewhat, but it's also boring. The whole production feels like an episode of MASTERPIECE THEATER.The ending result of this lack of setting and story is that all of the weight is put on the performance of Sting. I thought, personally, that his mannerisms and tones reminded me too much of Malcolm McDowell's Alex in A CLOCKWORK ORANGE. Combine that with the comparisons between the two characters invading a suburban home and the viewer starts seeing the influences leak out a little too much.While I admired parts of Sting's performance and the themes that the director wanted to explore, I just found the movie, as a whole, to be tedious, at times, and ultimately forgettable.

copeland-1 Though Sting was cooler as the Ace Face in the movie Quadraphenia, this film was certainly unique as it cast the 32-year old Sting in the role of the devil. The rape scene of Patty was disturbing to say the least but what do you expect from the devil? Most memorable is the soundtrack which I have yet to find on CD format. A notable track is "Only You" which features Jeff Seitz, Stewart Copeland's drum tech on drums. This track was also listed in the liner notes of the Police's '93 box set as being included in the 4-CD set but it wasn't! Nor was the instrumental "Light Changes" from their movie "Around the World" but I digress. Brimstone and Treacle was a dark film and spawned the video for one of its tracks, "Spread a Little Happiness". The video is bizarre as it features Sting in clerics serving tea to a bunch of church ladies. Yet at the very end of the video, he turns to look at the camera and his look is so demonic, so piercing that it actually gave me a fright. If you see the video, you'll understand.

helenandbrian Depending on your point of view, this is either an incredibly sick film or a classic piece of Filme Noire.Basically, Sting is a strange, disturbed young man who at least believes himself to be the devil incarnate. He inveigles his way into the house of a middle-aged couple and their brain damaged daughter, persuades them to let him "babysit" and then rapes the comatose girl while they are out.The characterisation is fairly well handled, as is the psychological aspect, but you can't help thinking that Dennis Potter was feeling rather more controversial than normal when he wrote it and that the director was exploiting the situation to get away with gratuitous, sadistic sex scenes masquerading as art.Ultimately, this is a very disturbing film, but is at least head and shoulders above the "made for TV" play released a few years earlier.The music on the other hand - by Sting himself (both solo and with The Police) - is much better fare. Simple production and a strange mix of styles, but at times it really captures the macabre mood down to a tee.

jlaw The film is re-make of a television play which the BBC chose not to transmit because of its controversial subject matter, in particular the final sequence of rape. This version which received a cinema release, appeared 6 years later, and included one member of the original cast, Denholm Elliot.The central role of Martin was re-cast with Sting (then lead singer with The Police) who also provided music material, including his first solo single Spread A Little Happiness. (Michael Nyman also provided soundtrack material.)The script remains largely faithful to the original screenplay, though several minutes of discourse in one of the final scenes is excised completely. This is a discussion of racism which provokes Mr Bates to retract from his outspoken racist views.The original TV play is set mostly within the confines of a living room, while thebigger-budget movie is less restricted, and has a Gothic, sinister atmosphere. References to Martin's diabolical nature are more subtle too – the TV play shows Martin with hairy, clawed feet. The closing scene of the film suggests that Martin may have been caught out (by an angel – or devil?), while the TV play implies that his actions within the Bates household are just one of many continuing abuses on a never-ending cycle.