Emmy Raver-Lampman and Jemma Redgrave are among the returning cast for ‘The Beekeeper 2’.
Star Jason Statham will also be back as the skilled operative.
‘Nobody 2’s Timo Tjahjanto is in the director’s chair.
While 2024’s Jason Statham-led action thriller ‘The Beekeeper’ saw a somewhat mixed reaction from critics, there’s no denying audience embraced the star’s latest chunk of clash-happy chaos, to the tune of $162 million worldwide.
There is a change behind the camera, however, as ‘Nobody 2’ director Timo Tjahjanto will take over calling the shots for David Ayer, who handled the original.
The 2024 original, scripted by Kurt Wimmer, saw Statham as Adam Clay, a former operative of a clandestine organization called “Beekeepers”.
After his friend and neighbor (Phylicia Rashad) dies by suicide after falling for a phishing scam, Clay sets out to exact revenge against the company responsible.
Raver-Lampman played Verona Parker, an FBI agent hot on Adam’s trail while Naderi was Parker’s partner, Agent Matt Wiley.
Redgrave appeared as Jessica Danforth, the President of the United States, entangled in the deadly scheme. She was also the mother to Josh Hutcherson’s Derek Danforth, the main antagonist of the first film. Irons, meanwhile, was Wallace Westwyld, a former CIA director serving as the head of security for Danforth Enterprises.
Wimmer has returned to write the script for the new movie, but the story is being kept in the hive for now. Mostly we’re guessing it’ll be a fresh excuse for Statham to kick a lot of butt.
And ‘Grown-ish’s Yara Shahidi will also be part of the cast for the new movie in an unknown role.
When will ‘The Beekeeper 2’ be on screens?
With Miramax producing and financing and Amazon MGM Studios once more aboard to distribute worldwide, the new movie is now in production.
We don’t have an official release date just yet, but we could see this one targeting an early-mid 2026 slot.
Opening in theaters on March 21st, ‘The Assessment’ is the sort of thoughtful, low-key but sometimes too dense science fiction movie that largely stays in the indie space since it’s unlikely to attract a giant blockbuster crowd.
Yet it’s somehow reassuring that in an age where IP is king and originality can be scarce at your local cinema, something like this can still hit screens.
‘The Assessment’ probably works best if you like your science fiction with some brain matter behind it; but there is also a deep well of emotion running here.
In the mold of Aldous Huxley in particular, its story of a climate-ravaged world that is struggling to survive in the wake of enormous damage done by mankind, it also posits a society that has adapted to dwindling resources by development of a miracle drug that can ward off disease and slow down aging.
But it’s also a tightly-controlled authoritarian regime where dissent is punishable by exile to the savage wastes outside the habitable domes where those who have the resources and are willing to both contribute and obey dwell.
In reality, though, the movie’s focus is much tighter –– it’s the tale of a couple who wish to have a child (reproduction through any method than some asexual fertilization process following a strict assessment period is forbidden) struggling with the unusual demands of the woman sent to test their suitability to be parents at all.
What transpires is a chaotic, testing battle of wills between the two prospective parents and the assessor, who tests them in ways they probably weren’t expecting; this is more than just checking to see if they’ve baby-proofed the wall sockets.
Script and Direction
Fleur Fortuné, director of ‘The Assessment’, a Magnolia Pictures release. Photo courtesy of Magnolia Pictures.
Written by Nell Garfath Cox, Dave Thomas (who collectively work as filmmaking team Mr. and Mrs. Thomas) along with John Donnelly, this is a cold, thoughtful movie that tells its story with enough human emotion to keep it from feeling like a film school test case. We’re introduced to the central pair through their daily lives as scientists and lovers, but the plot proper doesn’t kick in until the Assessor, played by Alicia Vikander arrives.
As director, music video helmer Fleur Fortune, who has also worked on short films, brings a careful touch to the film, which walks the line of being too intellectual with some skill. She has a keen eye for a visual and also gets great work out of some very good actors. There’s a real melancholy to the movie, even as the color palette is warm and inviting.
Elizabeth Olsen brings quiet grace to Mia, one half of the couple looking to reproduce, yet when scenes call for her to explode with anger, frustration or sadness, she’s more than up to those tasks also.
It’s Mia’s journey we’re truly on, from meeting her as a young girl abandoned by her mother to the grown woman who is willing to go to whatever lengths to both help society prosper and achieve her own aims, but comes up against some very tough home truths.
As Aaryan, Himesh Patel is dedicated and subtle, a man who will do anything for his wife, but who finds himself conflicted when the challenge of having the assessor in their home becomes all too strange.
Yet beyond the main pair, this is really Alicia Vikander’s film on a pure performance level. Playing Virginia, the state-appointed assessor whose task it is to decide across seven days whether Mia and Aaryan should get to have a child, she gives a tour-de-force acting class.
Switching from bureaucratically efficient to childishly wild in just a few scenes, Vikander here throws herself into the role and brings a truly complicated person to life.
Stealing the one scene in which she appears is Minnie Driver as Evie, who is old enough to remember the time before the world was ravaged and is soundly cynical about humanity’s chances now, not to mention scathingly critical of those who wish to bring more people into it.
It’s a superb turn from the actor, who spins a vision of a world so bleak that you both recoil from it but sometimes find yourself wishing the movie could expand to show it.
‘The Assessment’ will certainly be a tough watch for some; not just because of what happens in the movie, but also because of the subjects it addresses, including the control of women, the battle for resources and the challenges that parents of any type face.
Yet if you allow yourself to sink into its world, you’ll be rewarded.
id7lBjdpungpOKzG9Q5uE7
What is the plot of ‘The Assessment’?
In the near future, prospective parents must pass an initial test to prove their suitability for parenthood, and then endure a seven-day live-in visit from a facilitator known as the assessor who will put them through the wringer in all kinds of imaginable and unimaginable situations where, at the end, they will either get a passing grade — or not. Mia (Elizabeth Olsen) and Aaryan (Himesh Patel) are assigned an assessor named Virginia (Alicia Vikander), and as they begin the uncomfortable tests, their relationship begins to crumble.
Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with Alicia Vikander and director Fleur Fortuné about their work on ‘The Assessment’, the themes Fortuné wanted to explore, Vikander’s approach to her character, the challenges of performing her child like qualities, and how Fortuné created a visually unique world on screen.
You can read the full interview below or click on the video player above to watch our interview.
Moviefone: To begin with, Fleur, can you talk about your first reaction to this screenplay and the themes that you wanted to explore as a director?
Fleur Fortuné: I think my first reaction, I was like, “Whoa.” Because I felt like I was on the edge of my seat, and even though there was a lot of work, I could see how far I could bring it, and there were so many topics that I found interesting. I think the chamber piece, I love that some of my favorite movies are chamber pieces, even though some are very different. The idea to create an absurd test to decide if people could have kids or not, I didn’t think I had read that idea before. Then the sci-fi element, I could see how I could bring it into a place that was different. So, I think if I read the script and suddenly a lot of ideas come up, I think it’s a good sign.
MF: Alicia, when you first read the script, what was your initial reaction to Virginia, and did you approach playing her?
Alicia Vikander: You’re trying to figure out what this woman’s intentions are and what she might be coming from and if there’s any hidden agenda you don’t know about. I think that was a joy taking on a character like that. But then it’s almost roles within a role. I knew I was able to have this character step into many different versions of herself. Within that, I knew I was going to be able to stretch my acting abilities and do something quite different from anything I’ve done before. So, it was a daunting project, but one that I very much enjoyed.
MF: As an actor, was it challenging to tap into the character’s childlike qualities, or did you find it freeing to be able to go to those places?
AV: I think one of my joys that I love is that It’s like child play. I’ve always loved stepping into characters, trying to get to understand certain behavior, people, emotions, actions, even though you know, they’re questionable. I think when you come to the end of the story, too, I had enough of getting to the core of this character to really know where it all kind of comes from. So, it’s not that it’s anything just plastered on top. Even though it might not look like it at first, it really is kind of grounded from somewhere so that I could begin a journey from there and then do as players on like high-end loud notes as I was able to do in this film. It was work I enjoyed.
MF: Finally, Fleur, can you talk about the challenges of creating this visually unique world on screen?
FF: Very early on when I was reading the script, I always try to think on how I can do it in a different way in something that you haven’t seen before. Because it’s three characters in a room, I didn’t want it to be too cold and too blank and too minimal. I was talking to the production designer and when we were scouting Tenerife, which is a volcanic, very windy, and kind of threatening at the same time. So, you start to think from the story and the universe, the fact that there’s no forest, so you don’t have wood. We were building that, little by little, that. Then I wanted Mia’s universe, each one of them, Virginia, Aaryan, to have to feel the character within the place. They live in a certain way. So Aaryan, I think he’s scared of everything that is real. So, he creates things in the world that feels like completely virtual when there’s like nothing. Mia, she’s the opposite. She has access to a technology that is very advanced, but she chooses to repair and fix stuff and touch things in a very raw and real way. I think the place where Virginia lives that you discover later, you understand a lot there. I wanted to have a lot of her own history and her character and who she is behind the state employee and all that. So, I think it comes from the story, and then you create it visually.
id7lBjdpungpOKzG9Q5uE7
What is the plot of ‘The Assessment’?
In the near future, prospective parents must pass an initial test to prove their suitability for parenthood, and then endure a seven-day live-in visit from a facilitator known as the assessor who will put them through the wringer in all kinds of imaginable and unimaginable situations where, at the end, they will either get a passing grade — or not. Mia (Elizabeth Olsen) and Aaryan (Himesh Patel) are assigned an assessor named Virginia (Alicia Vikander), and as they begin the uncomfortable tests, their relationship begins to crumble.
There’s more than meets the eye in the word ‘The Beekeeper.’
In the Jason Statham-led action thriller, it isn’t just about someone who tends to the bees but about a powerful and clandestine organization known as the “Beekeepers.” When Adam Clay’s client and friend fall for a phishing scam that leads to her suicide, the former operative sets out to bring her death to justice.
The movie premiered on January 10, 2024, in London at Leicester Square, released in the United States on January 12, 2024. ‘Beekeeper’s theatrical release included showings in IMAX and Dolby Cinema for audiences to get a more immersive experience. The David Ayer action thriller has grossed over $63 million domestically and over $149.6 million worldwide.
‘Beekeeper’ has a runtime of 1 hour and 45 minutes. If you missed the movie in theaters, don’t worry. As of January 30, 2024, it is available to rent or purchase on VOD platforms such as Apple TV, Prime Video, Google Play, YouTube, and Vudu. Prices range from $19.99 for rental or $24.99 for purchase.
Since the film was released under MGM, it will likely end up streaming for free on Prime Video subscribers. However, no official streaming date has been announced by the studio or Prime Video. If you’re a Sky Cinema subscriber, the movie will be available to watch at no additional cost on March 8.
Director David Ayer leans into the mythology behind bees – the idea of taking care of and protecting the hive and turning it into how a powerful secret organization would operate. The director also found Statham to be the perfect actor to express that mythology. With that, Ayer used the opportunity to try something different from his usual dark drama style
“When I read this script, it was this fascinating look into the world of the beekeepers. It was the right amount of, just enough to know what’s going on, and not so much that you don’t lose the magic and mystery of it. In that script, I saw an amazing role for Jason, he came attached to it, but also, I saw an opportunity for me to do something a little bit different. It’s really a classic action, escapist, thrill ride. Normally I do a lot of dark drama, and so to have the opportunity to make a fun movie that I know an audience is going to love was something I couldn’t say no to.”
We’ve seen Statham in plenty of action movies, everything from the ‘Transporter’ franchise to ‘Fast & Furious.’ Aside from delivering on the action front, Statham is the kind of actor who can make any dialogue work – even ones that feel a bit over-the-top or ridiculous.
In ‘Beekeeper’, you’ll see plenty of Jason Statham putting his martial arts skills to use as he sets out to take down the Danforth corporation. Ayer worked with stunt coordinator Jeremy Marinas on the film and mentions that Statham does his own stunts, “you present him a scene, he’s the guy that’s going to do everything, and he has a loud vote, he has a voice.”
“So, we had this great stunt coordinator and choreographer, Jeremy Marinas, who comes from the 87eleven school, and his understanding of human kinetics and how people just move was educational for me. Then with Jason, I mean, he’s an action icon, he’s a legend. He does his own stunts, so it’s interesting because you present him a scene, he’s the guy that’s going to do everything, and he has a loud vote, he has a voice. He’s probably forgotten more about action than I’ve ever known. So, it was really challenging, I always bring my A game to set and Jason taught me that there’s an A+ game when it comes to action.”
Watch the official trailers for ‘Beekeeper’ below:
5ZDdgYrN
The official synopsis for ‘Beekeeper’ is below:
In The Beekeeper, one man’s brutal campaign for vengeance takes on national stakes after he is revealed to be a former operative of a powerful and clandestine organization known as “Beekeepers”.
Opening in theaters on January 12th, ‘The Beekeeper’ is the latest tough guy outing for Jason Statham, playing another variant on his former-intelligence-operative-called-back-into-action character that appears to make up half of his cinematic resume.
But does this new film, directed by David Ayer (‘Suicide Squad’, ‘Fury’) make for a worthwhile addition to that canon? The answer might depend on whether you have a tolerance for the most basic version of this movie.
‘The Beekeeper’ exists in one of those movie worlds where former intelligence operatives are all over the place and there is a massive conspiracy to be sorted out. And one where Statham grimaces his way through the emotional moments and lets loose during the set pieces. For the most part, though, ‘The Beekeeper’ is found wanting.
This stretches credibility so many times, your enjoyment level is likely to sink quickly as the movie uses the same tired action beats and flies towards an extremely predictable outcome. With this type of outing, you need a truly outstanding layer over the basic concept to make it work, and again, on that front ‘The Beekeeper’ lacks any real sting.
The script for this one comes from Kurt Wimmer, whose name is likely to give plenty of people pause. While there is plenty of love for some of his previous work –– ‘Equilibrium’, for example, even if it pushes far into ridiculous places as it goes along –– he’s been responsible for some truly dreadful scripts in the past, including ‘Ultraviolet’ and the remakes of ‘Point Break’ and ‘Total Recall’.
If you’re no fan of Wimmer’s work, ‘The Beekeeper’ is unlikely to move the needle into a positive zone since it features some utterly dumb dialogue and situations. Lines such as “if there was a back entrance, I’d have used it” are likely to make you laugh more than engage with the action.
And don’t get us started on the multiple, honestly exhausting uses of bee terminology. Every single character, it seems, says some version of “protect the hive” or “queen bee” and if you were to start a drinking game for each time someone says a bee-related word, you’d fall out of your chair completely out of your gourd by roughly 30 minutes in. Which might be the best way to experience this movie.
As for Ayer, who has proved he knows how to make action movies in the past (there are plenty of people who still want to see his version of ‘Suicide Squad’ after the studio reportedly edited its own version), but here he’s strictly on autopilot.
The set pieces are perfectly adequate, but how many times can you watch Jason Statham act like a human bulldozer, ploughing through baddies who stand in his way. We don’t know if it’s in his contract that he must always look like a total badass, but here none of the people who stand in his way prove to be much of a threat until one near the end. It’s like watching someone play a video game on the easiest mode, which just becomes numbing after a while.
We mentioned above about Statham’s character, and the actor plays him just like every other role of this sort. You could interchange him with the Transporter, ‘The Expendables’ Lee Christmas or Chev Chelios from ‘Crank’ (and even both ‘Crank’ movies had some gonzo action to make up for him). Here, he goes through the motions with all the charisma of a garden gnome, clearly uncomfortable in quieter character moments such as those with co-star Phylicia Rashad at the start. When it comes to the action, he’s always been competent, but just offers up his usual martial arts style, kicking and punching his way through swathes of villains and henchmen.
Even when we’re asked to believe that Statham; Adam Clay is an inventive badass, that only goes so far. Sure, the script gives him one or two cool moments, but they’re still few and far between. And don’t get us started on his standard accent, which is mostly British but does venture towards the States occasionally. The movie does at least nod to that, with the revelation that Clay was born there, but it makes it no less ridiculous.
Beyond Statham, there is a gaggle of British actors slapping on slightly fake American accents to play the baddies, including such respected thespians as Jeremy Irons and Jemma Redgrave who are clearly in it for a mortgage payment more than a satisfying acting gig. And pity poor Minnie Driver, who pops up for one scene that could have been given to anyone to play. Was she in the movie more before the editing stage? It’s a mystery.
Josh Hutcherson tries to make a stock spoiled rich guy role work, but he rarely makes an impact, while it’s left to Emmy Raver-Lampman, who understood assignment, to bring some life to her dedicated FBI character, who at least has a hint of character motivation.
‘The Beekeeper’: Final Thoughts
‘The Beekeeper’ is likely to be viewed in the “so bad it’s good” category, something to throw on if you and your friends want to have fun mocking it. But it falls short of the “it’s good part” too often to really be one we can recommend.
This is less a bee-movie, more a D-movie.
‘The Beekeeper’ receives 5.5 out of 10 stars.
n2Wi6ba9PqZ5yhXCHXagz3
What is the plot of ‘The Beekeeper’?
Adam Clay (Jason Statham) is a former operative of a clandestine organization called “Beekeepers”. After his friend and neighbor (Phylicia Rashad) dies by suicide after falling for a phishing scam, Clay sets out to exact revenge against the company responsible.
(L to R) Josh Hutcherson and director David Ayer talk ‘The Beekeeper.’
Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with Josh Hutcherson and director David Ayer about their work on ‘The Beekeeper,’ their first reaction to the screenplay, exploring the mythology of the Beekeepers, Ayer’s approach to the action sequences, Hutcherson’s wild character, and working with Jeremy Irons and Jason Statham.
You can read the full interview below or click on the video player above to watch the interviews.
Moviefone: To begin with, David, what was your first reaction to the screenplay and the opportunity to explore the mythology of the Beekeepers?
David Ayer: I mean, you nailed it right there. When I read this script, it was this fascinating look into the world of the beekeepers. It was the right amount of, just enough to know what’s going on, and not so much that you don’t lose the magic and mystery of it. In that script, I saw an amazing role for Jason, he came attached to it, but also, I saw an opportunity for me to do something a little bit different. It’s really a classic action, escapist, thrill ride. Normally I do a lot of dark drama, and so to have the opportunity to make a fun movie that I know an audience is going to love was something I couldn’t say no to.
MF: The allegory of the movie seems to be that the Danforth Corporation has kicked the hornet’s nest, and Adam Clay (Statham) is the bee that is going to sting them. Do you agree with that?
DA: That’s it. There’s a lot of cool allegories and this very interesting mythology behind bees, and this idea of taking care of the hive, taking care of society, protecting the hive and protecting society. Jason was the perfect person to express that mythology because he is so iconic, and he does feel so larger than life that it really helps elevate this movie into something I think none of us were expecting. It’s hard to make a movie, and it’s hard to make a good movie, and you never know how these things are going to come together. I trusted the script and I trusted Jason and I trusted myself, because again, it’s like a new language for me, like a real true genre picture that’s fun and doesn’t take itself too seriously. To find those new muscles as a director was a fantastic exercise for me.
MF: Josh, what was your first reaction to reading about your character in the script? Why did you want to play him and what was your approach?
Josh Hutcherson: When I first read this script and read a bit about Derek, I was surprised that I was the person that they were calling. It’s a departure for me. He’s a scumbag. He’s a very powerful, rich crypto bro who is out of his mind on drugs and alcohol and just spiraling. I jumped at the bit to play it. I think that it was something for me that was a big departure and really taking a swing at something different. It was so much fun to do. As far as the approach goes, I mean, David and I just had a lot of conversations about who is Derek at his core, what does he really want, what’s his life been like with his mom, with his dad and his money? We landed on this idea that he’s wildly insecure and trying to prove to his family that he is powerful, and that he is valuable. Because he’s never had to deal with any consequences his entire life, and had no accountability for anything, it creates a monster. As the film progresses and the walls start closing in on him, he becomes more and more unhinged and out of control.
MF: Can you talk about the illegal business that your character oversees and how it affects his family?
JH: He has this little side business that he’s set up that basically is a call center, multiple call centers, that go and scam, especially elderly people out of their savings and bank accounts. It’s a nasty business. It’s gross. I think that in my mind, how I justified him starting this business is that it’s twofold. One is that he’s doing it out of a sense of rebellion because he must live a certain kind of life and keep things clean because of his family situation. Then the other part is I think that he, and this happens a lot, I think, when people have so much money, they dehumanize people, and you don’t view them as actual human beings. So, I think those two factors allowed him to create this thing that turns into an absolute monster.
MF: David, can you talk about the unusual partnership that Derek and Wallace have together and working with Josh and Jeremy Irons?
DA: Josh is a real actor and just, I have to say it, Derek is not Josh, he’s playing a role, that’s not who he is in real life. He’s a very nice guy. To take this wild, crazy character with the green jackets and the snakeskin and the crazy hair and then pair him with Wallace Westwyld as envisioned by Jeremy Irons, it’s a great alchemy. It’s a great relationship they have, and it helps make the bad guy world a lot more fun.
MF: Wallace seems reluctant to help Derek with his Beekeeper problem. Was the character written that way originally, or is that something Jeremy Irons brought to the role?
DA: It’s something we worked on with Jeremy and it was also in the script too, this idea of, what happens when you get compromised, what happens when you say yes to the wrong thing, and then do you have to keep saying yes? If you do, what does that mean? You can feel that he knows what is happening isn’t right, but you can also feel how trapped he is by the circumstances.
MF: Josh, how would you describe Derek’s relationship with Wallace?
JH: Jeremy Irons plays Wallace Westwyld, and he’s kind of like Derek’s right-hand man sort of. He does Derek’s bidding, protects him in ways too. He’s a former CIA director, and now he’s kind of been placed here to watch after me, but I treat him like absolute garbage. I’m a total douchebag to him. It’s a fun dynamic, especially, I mean, having Jeremy Irons be this guy that I’m treating like trash. It was a lot of fun. It’s a very good dynamic. David gave me a lot of space to play and improv and kind of throw a bunch of stuff at him, so we had a good time.
MF: Most of your scenes in the film are with Jeremy Irons, what was he like to have him as a scene partner?
JH: He’s amazing. I mean, he’s just got such a weight to him, and his voice and his presence is just intense. But he’s the nicest guy, very funny, and very relaxed. But when they say action, he turns it on, and he clicks it into gear.
MF: Josh, what was your experience like being on a David Ayer set and working with him as a director?
JH: David runs an amazing set. He’s extremely collaborative. He works very fast, and he really marries the worlds of action and choreography and stunt work and big set pieces with more intimate, personal, grounded character stuff. He does that incredibly. For me, having the confidence with myself to play this character that’s so different for me, I needed to just give myself over to it and trust David and let my instincts kind of take me to where they may. It worked out. I loved working with David. He’s fantastic.
MF: David, can you talk about crafting the action sequences and working with Jason Statham?
DA: So, we had this great stunt coordinator and choreographer, Jeremy Marinas, who comes from the 87eleven school, and his understanding of human kinetics and how people just move was educational for me. Then with Jason, I mean, he’s an action icon, he’s a legend. He does his own stunts, so it’s interesting because you present him a scene, he’s the guy that’s going to do everything, and he has a loud vote, he has a voice. He’s probably forgotten more about action than I’ve ever known. So, it was really challenging, I always bring my A game to set and Jason taught me that there’s an A+ game when it comes to action.
MF: Finally, Josh, you don’t have many scenes in the movie with Jason Statham. Did it feel at times like you were making two separate movies?
JH: The truth is, I think I only have one scene with Jason in the entire movie. But just watching him, because there were many days where I was around and they were shooting other things, just watching him work, the guy he doesn’t miss. He’s so on top of it and consistent, professional and the choreography that he keeps in his head, and the fact that he’s able to do that, and have his lines and nail his mark every time. He’s a fine, fine, fine-tuned machine.
n2Wi6ba9PqZ5yhXCHXagz3
What is the plot of ‘The Beekeeper’?
Adam Clay (Jason Statham) is a former operative of a clandestine organization called “Beekeepers”. After his friend and neighbor (Phylicia Rashad) dies by suicide after falling for a phishing scam, Clay sets out to exact revenge against the company responsible.
Simon Pegg in ‘Nandor Fodor and the Talking Mongoose.’ Photo: Saban FIlms.
In theaters on September 1st, ‘Nandor Fodor and the Talking Mongoose‘ is a strange beast in itself, even considering the communicative creature at its core. It’s one of those oddities that you almost wonder how it got funding, so obscure and specific is its story. But we’re glad that it shows how all types of movies can make their way to the screen.
Starring Simon Pegg, Minnie Driver, Christopher Lloyd and more, it’s a British-set story that is likely unfamiliar to American audiences unless you happen to have an interest in the paranormal. Those from the UK, meanwhile, might recognize the story of Gef as one that frequented the pages of ‘The Fortean Times’, a monthly publication that focuses on unexplained phenomena.
Mdfj8svQma9Hkp8fKwec96
What’s the story of ‘Nandor Fodor and the Talking Mongoose’?
(L to R) Simon Pegg and Minnie Driver in ‘Nandor Fodor and the Talking Mongoose.’ Photo: Saban FIlms.
The movie is based on a (possibly) true tale set in 1935 London and the Isle of Man.
When famed paranormal psychologist Dr. Nandor Fodor (Pegg) investigates a family’s claims of a talking animal –– a mongoose named Gef –– he uncovers a mysterious web of hidden motives. Soon, everyone becomes a suspect in Dr. Fodor’s relentless pursuit of the truth.
Who else is in ‘Nandor Fodor and the Talking Mongoose’?
(L to R) Gary Beadle, Tim Downie, Minnie Driver and Simon Pegg in ‘Nandor Fodor and the Talking Mongoose.’ Photo: Saban FIlms.
Does ‘Nandor Fodor and the Talking Mongoose’ work?
(L to R) Simon Pegg and Minnie Driver in ‘Nandor Fodor and the Talking Mongoose.’ Photo: Saban FIlms.
Though it has an American writer/director (Adam Sigal, previously behind such movies as ‘Chariot’ and ‘Stakeout’, ‘Nandor Fodor’ (I’m not going to write the whole title out all the time, lest this review’s word count balloon to 5,000 words) feels more like something that would crop up on BBC television in the UK of a Sunday evening.
The movie is a small-scale, low-key one, albeit with a weirder subject matter than other such projects, usually having to do with other historical periods or kitchen sink melodrama. ‘Nandor Fodor’, though, is more akin to an Agatha Christie mystery, just one without a murder.
We have Simon Pegg as Fandor, who at the time the movie takes place, was largely shunned by the spiritualist community he had once been part of due to him taking on more of a skeptical bent to his investigations into the supernatural.
Pegg gives a workmanlike performance as the main character, with a mostly convincing accent and a manner that only occasionally dips into his usual acting bag of tricks. He plays especially well off of Minnie Driver’s Anne, his dedicated assistant, who suffers through Fodor’s changeable moods.
Minnie Driver in ‘Nandor Fodor and the Talking Mongoose.’ Photo: Saban FIlms.
Driver, for her part, is funny and charming, making Anne an appealing counterpoint to Fodor’s moods and someone more willing to embrace the potential that Gef could really be an “earthbound spirit” as the creature has claimed.
It’s stranger to hear Gaiman –– more usually known as an acclaimed author of fantasy and science fiction –– voicing the mongoose, as he opts to put on a different voice, and performs to a greater degree than the mellifluous narrator voice he’s employed for projects such as the audiobooks of his work.
Also in the positive column, though his role is much smaller, is Christopher Lloyd as Dr. Harry Price, a colleague and friend of Nandor’s who first alerts him to the family’s claims that Gef exists.
As a whole, the movie has more on its mind than a simple creature feature, looking to explore concepts of perception and life after death under the guise of a supernatural mystery (which admittedly rarely gets all that supernatural).
Any problems with the movie?
Christopher Lloyd in ‘Nandor Fodor and the Talking Mongoose.’ Photo: Saban FIlms.
What lets ‘Nandor Fodor’ down is the tone that it chooses to use, and the many narrative side alleyways that it chooses to wander down even before the main story kicks in. Fodor doesn’t arrive at the Irving family farm until around 30 minutes into the movie, which for a 96-minute tale is a little punishing.
And though there is entertainment value to be found in Pegg and Lloyd discussing the history of Houdini and others, it rarely feels relevant to the main story and starts to seem more like filler than necessary color for the characters.
The Irving family, meanwhile, barely register, the focus somewhat naturally on Pegg, Driver and to a lesser degree, Gary Beadle as Errol, the farmhand who helps out around the property and has his own thoughts on whether Gef is real. The only other main character (besides Lloyd’s) is ‘Game of Thrones’ Paul Kaye as Maurice, the local barfly/owner, who is happy to drown his sorrows and tell his sad stories to anyone who will listen. He’s largely played for sozzled laughs, at least until he’s drawn more into the main plot.
(L to R) Simon Pegg and Thomas Wright in ‘Nandor Fodor and the Talking Mongoose.’ Photo: Saban FIlms.
A further sticking point is quite how quirky everything is, overplayed to a pantomime degree that becomes more annoying than it is engaging. Credit to the filmmakers for finding a tone and sticking to it, but the overtly mannered work from most of the cast (excepting Driver, who finds a more realistic gear and sticks to it) means that it becomes oppressively odd.
Likely to appeal to a relatively niche audience, ‘Nandor Fodor’ will entertain those who enjoy paranormal mysteries yet seems certain to frustrate with its meandering story and overly quirky performances.
Though it refreshingly doesn’t commit to a judgement as to whether the Gef story was real or not (again, perception at play), it’s a confounding and ultimately vaguely disappointing poke into a fascinating historical, supernatural mystery. You’re probably better off seeking out the many accounts of the talking mongoose that litter the internet or appear in magazines.
‘Nandor Fodor and the Talking Mongoose’ receives 6.5 out of 10 stars.
(L to R) Gary Beadle, Tim Downie, Simon Pegg and Minnie Driver in ‘Nandor Fodor and the Talking Mongoose.’ Photo: Saban FIlms.
Other Movies Similar to ‘Nandor Fodor and the Talking Mongoose:’
Debuting on digital June 16th is Searchlight Pictures’ universally acclaimed ‘Chevalier,’ which was directed by Stephen Williams (‘Soul Survivor’).
What is the plot of ‘Chevalier’?
‘Chevalier’ is inspired by the incredible true story of composer Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges. The illegitimate son of an African slave and a French plantation owner, Bologne (Kelvin Harrison Jr.) rises to improbable heights in French society as a celebrated violinist-composer and fencer, complete with an ill-fated love affair and a falling out with Marie Antoinette (Lucy Boynton) and her court.
Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with Kelvin Harrison Jr. in honor of ‘Chevalier’s digital release and talked about making the movie, his first reaction to the screenplay, shooting the amazing opening scene, Bologne’s relationship with Marie-Josephine, and working with director Stephen Williams.
You can read the full interview below or click on the video player above to watch our interview.
Moviefone: To begin with, what was your first reaction to reading the screenplay, learning about this real-life figure, and what research did you do into Joseph Bologne’s life to prepare you for this role?
Kelvin Harrison Jr.: I was really excited that this movie was getting made, when I first heard about it. I was really intrigued by, at first it was the character because I didn’t really know the man. I didn’t even know that he was a real man. Then once I found out that he was, then the preparation, there was a lot. I had to do a lot of research on the history of Paris and Guadalupe, trade and economics, who was in power at the time, and just why was Maria Antoinette there, and what did she believe in and what was her relation to Joseph? What did the art scene look like? There’s just a lot of specific little details to tackle before I could even get into building the man. But that was the beginning of it.
MF: There’s a great featurette on the digital release that shows how the opening sequence was filmed. Director Steven Williams mentions both Jimi Hendrix and Prince, and the specific way they play their guitars, and that he was trying to recreate that with the way that Bologne plays his violin. Can you talk about that and shooting that opening sequence?
Kelvin Harrison Jr.: It’s interesting, because you’re trying to figure out how to make this thing that doesn’t feel very contemporary and doesn’t feel very cool, even in contemporary terms, feel like a rock thing. There was a lot of playing around with the movement coach, with actually making it look like there was some type of the same physicality or the poses of a rockstar. But then you have to throw a lot of it out the window, and then it just becomes about the feeling. What are the lines that (composer) Michael Abel was able to compose that gave an element of really showing a sense of showmanship? I think the thing is when you have a character like Joseph who is what’s called a virtuoso, which is just the speed and agility, it’s like people that sing riffs and runs. You’re doing it to be like, “Look at my vocal availability,” you know what I mean? It’s not always necessary for the song, but you’re doing it kind of to show what you can do, and that gives you the moment leaning into some of those slides, which is what guitarists do. That physicality of that has to be present in order to create the rockstar. So, yes, the Jimi Hendrix, Prince of it all, it was correlating the movement to the musicality.
MF: Can you also talk about the challenges of learning how to play the violin and fencing for this role?
Kelvin Harrison Jr.: I actually started learning how to fence from ‘Cyrano’ when I did that because Joe (Wright) originally had a big fencing number for me in the movie, or sword fighting number, and then we cut it. So, that was my pre-training. Then, when I got into it, they hired a proper fencing coach. I had to learn it. I don’t even remember any of the terms anymore. But I used to do that for an hour or sometimes two hours a day for a couple of months. But it was mostly just learning the choreography of that particular sequence. But it was a lot of work. It felt like I was in college. You know what I mean? I just felt like I was taking a bunch of classes, and the day of the shoot was my test. I just had to study.
MF: Can you talk about Joseph’s relationship with Marie-Josephine and working on that relationship with Samara Weaving?
Kelvin Harrison Jr.: It’s an interesting dynamic, Josephine and Joseph’s relationship, because I never interpreted it as if they were actually in love. I think Joseph learned. Lucy said this earlier in an interview. She was saying, “Marie Antoinette didn’t necessarily want to be friends with Joseph because she wanted to be. She wanted to be in close proximity to him because it made her look good.” I think when you are in an environment like that, the other players in that community start to pick up on the same tactics. So, I think Joseph was doing the same thing. Marie-Josephine made him ultimately look good. Now, is it more complex? Is there a lust involved in that? Absolutely. Is there a sense of kinship in Marie Antoinette and Joseph’s relationship? Absolutely. But ultimately, each of those characters wants something. Marie-Josephine wants an opportunity to pursue her dream and her craft. She feels like she’s a bird in a cage. She wants something from Joseph. Joseph gives her an opportunity. She’s willing to defy her husband’s wishes to get that opportunity. So, what we’re seeing is people having a commonality between them, and a bravery and a boldness that can only be tested in those circumstances. You almost get attracted to your own grit and your own tenacity. That’s what me and Sam Weaving talked about. We just discussed those dynamics and what we had in common, and what we were trying to explore with those characters.
MF: Can you talk about the way Joseph’s view of the world changes once his mother comes back into his life?
Kelvin Harrison Jr.: I think, Joseph, he sees everything as if this is the best it can get. “I’ll accept where I’m at. I want more, but I don’t have to necessarily feel appreciated, or feel loved, or feel a sense of community right now in my life.” But his mom teaches him that you’re worth so much more than you’re giving yourself credit for, and you’ve bought into the game and the system that they play in this town. Actually, it’s killing you. You’re not elevating because of it, because you’re so obsessed with a goalpost that won’t give you happiness, won’t give you community, and won’t give you a sense of belonging. What he’s learning is to redefine his sense of self and what his core beliefs are. It changes his whole sense of freedom and ownership. He stopped allowing these people to say, “We own you. You’re only worth something if you can do A, B, and C.” He’s like, “I’m worth something because I say I am, and I believe I’m special, and I believe I’m interesting, and I want to share that with people that want to acknowledge it. All the people that are heartbroken in France right now because they aren’t being acknowledged as well.”
MF: Finally, what was your experience like collaborating with Stephen Williams on this project?
Kelvin Harrison Jr.: It was so much fun. Stephen, he’s such a playful director. He really is Joseph in his own way. He’s Joseph at the end of the movie, where he’s like, “I’m not interested in trying to subscribe to however the blockbuster or whatever movie is supposed to be, or the period piece it’s supposed to be. I’m going to make my own version of this, and I’m going to discover that with you and the rest of the artists that I choose to work with.” It was really cool to just be like, “We can make up our own rules as we go,” and as long as we were telling the truth and we were having a good time. So, I really appreciate him, and I think he made a really fun movie.
Debuting October 14th on Hulu, the effervescent, witty ‘Rosaline’ proves to be more than your average rom-com.
With ‘Yes, God, Yes’ and ‘Obvious Child’s Karen Maine in the director’s chair, ‘Rosaline’ was (loosely) adapted from Rebecca Serle’s 2012 novel by ‘500 Days of Summer’ writers Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber. The film takes the modern-twist-on-Shakespeare concept from the book and resets it to a period setting.
We’re introduced to Rosaline (Kaitlyn Dever), a member of the Capulet family of Verona, Italy. She’s trying to balance keeping her romance with Romeo (heir apparent of the rival Montague clan, played by Kyle Allen) secret against her father Adrian’s (Bradley Whitford) desire that she marry someone suitable. Or, preferably, someone suitably rich.
When Rosaline’s latest suitor – the seemingly perfect, yet not-her-type (she thinks) – Dario, played by Sean Teale, takes her out boating, she misses a crucial masquerade ball. Romeo attends, and falls for Rosaline’s cousin, Juliet (Isabela Merced).
Suddenly, all of Romeo’s time, affection, and perhaps most cuttingly, cringey love poetry is being directed towards the new love of his life, Rosaline seemingly now a passing fancy.
Determined to win him back (even though any fool can see that Dario is a far better match), Rosaline plots to break up literature’s most famous pair, even as she can’t deny becoming friends with her cousin.
The result is an uproarious comedy that delivers on several levels – it’s a smart, knowing romantic tale that is one of the stronger post-modern spins on Shakespeare to come along in a while.
You think you know the story of this one – Romeo and Juliet forsake all others and choose ending their lives in star-crossed love when their warring families don’t approve. Here, it all wraps up in more farcical fashion, with a final, knowing nod to ‘The Graduate’.
We’d totally avoid spoilers, but let’s be honest, the original play is more than 400 years old, and one of the most well-known romances produced throughout human history. Still, it’s wise to go in without knowing too much of the tweaks that ‘Rosaline’ makes to the story, so that you might enjoy them.
And while Rosaline’s story is one that has been mined for screens big and small before (1966’s movie ‘Juliet in Mantua’, short-lived TV series ‘Still Star-Crossed’, which is set after the central pair breathe their last and saw Lashana Lynch as Rosaline) and recent stage musical ‘& Juliet’, the new movie still manages to say things about young love, the differences between men and women and how the conflict between the Capulets and Montagues was a ridiculous concept.
Dever’s star has been on the rise for a while now; anyone who watched ‘Booksmart’, ‘Short Term 12’ or ‘Dopesick’ already knew she had the goods when it came to either comedy or drama (or both at once), and she nails the role of frustrated lead here. Whether she’s quietly grieving lost love or taking Juliet out to a local tavern to convince her to play the field instead of crushing on Romeo, she owns it.
Around her, the film builds an ensemble that runs the gamut from handsome and adequate (Allen, though in his defence, he doesn’t get too much to do) to the endlessly entertaining Minnie Driver. Taking hold of the role of Rosaline’s Nurse (“Janet! Though no-one bothers to ask me my name”), she delivers a sarcastic treat of a performance that plays well off of Dever’s own snarky energy and steals every scene she so much as crops up in. (There is one moment, a camera pan, that plays almost like a jump scare, but comedic).
Somewhere in the middle are the likes of Teale, who does more than smolder, and Spencer Stevenson as Rosaline’s pal Paris, endlessly commenting on the chaos and at one point dragged in to become an unwilling potential groom for Juliet when her illicit romance is discovered. As the famous heroine, Merced shows comedy chops that works well alongside Dever’s.
The tone of this one is somewhere between ‘Bridgerton’ (less the steamy scenes, since this is strictly PG-13 and more the wittiness/musical needle drops) and the cleverness of ’10 Things I Hate About You’ (when you see the film, try asking yourself whether Allen won the role of Romeo because he looks a lot like Heath Ledger in that movie).
A seemingly lower budget means the movie sometimes struggles to portray its period setting, despite some location work in Italy. One or two sequences, especially those set on the water, have an awfully greenscreen look to them, which diminishes the effect – fortunately, the sparky dialogue saves the day and you’re too busy chuckling at Dever and Teale slinging shade at each other to really notice
You could theoretically watch this in a double bill with ‘Catherine Called Birdy’ on Prime Video, which features another sprightly heroine (played there by ‘Game of Thrones’ Bella Ramsey), who is similarly chafing against expectations and wondering how her life will work out. Of the two, though, ‘Rosaline’ is the more purely entertaining. Like Birdy, Rosaline dreams of something very different than her family might wish and her era would suggest she’s destined for – all she really wants to do is become a cartographer.
It might be working within the conventions of the traditional rom-com, and it’s bound (mostly) by the events of ‘Romeo & Juliet,’ but ‘Rosaline’ still manages to carve out a darker, funnier, weirder way of telling such a story. It might not function as well if you don’t know the source material, but then that’s what Wikipedia is for, right?
A smaller scale means it feels at home streaming rather than bemoaning the fact it didn’t get a theatrical release. ‘Rosaline’s power is in its performances and its screenplay. Don’t bite your thumb at us… Watch it.
‘Romeo & Juliet’ is easily one of the most adapted pieces of fiction in history. Shakespeare’s story of the doomed lovers has been the inspiration for all sorts of other movies, TV shows, books and more.
But what about Rosaline? In the original play, she’s an unseen, unrequited love of Romeo’s before he falls for Juliet, mentioning that he writes her poetry.
The new romantic comedy ‘Rosaline’, though, spins out the idea that she was actually his girlfriend before he met Juliet – and she’s pissed off that he’s thrown himself whole-hearted into this new relationship… in just three days.
Kaitlyn Dever, who has been so good in the likes of ‘Booksmart’, ‘The Spectacular Now’ and on the small screen in ‘Dopesick’, ‘Unbelievable’ and ‘Justified’, is Rosaline here, who complains to her nurse (played by Minnie Driver) about how she feels. And soon, she’s planning to win him back.
Of course, the fact that Juliet (Isabela Merced of the recent ‘Father of the Bride’) is her cousin makes that a little harder – though it does also give Rosaline an upper hand in influencing her (in one case here, trying to convince her to sample the buffet of men that is out in the wider world).
But mostly, it’s a comic romp of her trying to throw a wrench in the world’s most famous romance.
The new movie was directed by ‘Yes, God, Yes’ filmmaker Karen Maine from a script by Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber (who have some romantic movie experience via ‘The Fault in Our Stars’ and ‘(500) Days of Summer‘) who adapted the novel ‘When You Were Mine’ by Rebecca Serle.
Oh, and one of the producers behind this one? Shawn Levy, who has a few projects on screens right now (maybe you’ve heard of ‘Stranger Things’ or ‘The Adam Project?)
This is in keeping with what appears to be a trend at the moment – snarky takes on historical (even if this is fictional) stories. Lena Dunham’s medieval coming-of-age tale ‘Catherine, Called Birdy’ features ‘Game of Thrones’ Bella Ramsey as a young woman facing the prospect of being married off so her parents can profit, while ‘The Princess’ saw Joey King as a battling royal fighting back (literally) against the idea of being wed to a slimy suitor.
And the tone here is definitely modern-meets-Shakespeare, with its poppy soundtrack and less-than-strictly-bard-style dialogue. Will anyone bite their thumb at anyone else? We’re not sure at this point. They’re probably more likely to flip the bird.
