Three estranged filmmakers are hired to work together to make a movie for
an egotistical billionaire.
Review by
Benjamin Poole
Directed by: Mariano Cohn, Gastón Duprat
Starring: Penélope Cruz, Antonio Banderas, Oscar Martínez, José Luis Gómez
That Penélope Cruz, you just can't beat her. The fathomless,
piercing intelligence; the eyes which can flicker from cruelty to kindness
in a single frame; the infinite grace, the endless style (she is Chanel,
of course). Cruz is an actor whose performance dictates the movies that
she stars in, a true auteur. So, it is entirely fitting that in
Mariano Cohn and Gastón Duprat's (with co-writing duties
shared with Andrés Duprat) dramedy
Official Competition, the great Cruz plays mercurial film-maker Lola Cuevas, an eccentric and
Palme d'Or celebrated director (think a more cartoony Von Trier with
DeMille’s absolute predominance). Even here with a Sideshow Bob
fright-wig, she is still the coolest human being on planet Earth, and the
role gives Cruz mucha opportunity to share her sharp comedic instincts and
steely energy.
Employed by a wealthy businessman in a fit of late-life hobbyism to
produce a film (a development which neatly allows the film to sidestep
such factors as studio interference), Cuevas is tasked with writing and
directing an adaptation of a novel about a man who is unable to forgive
his brother for killing their parents in a drunk-driving accident. The
kinsmen are played by Antonio Banderas (Cruz and Banderas - a dream
pairing not seen together since a scant few scenes in
I'm So Excited) and Oscar Martínez; Banderas' movie star Felix is showy and
handsome, while Martínez's stage trained Iván is earnestly pretentious.
The narrative depicts the actors working and rehearsing under Cuevas'
unconventional conditions: an unofficial competition.
Yes, it's all very meta. As an inevitable rivalry develops between the
actors (and is duly stoked by Cuevas), there are little digs about Iván's
Argentinian accent (Martínez is from Buenos Aires) and a, quite amusing,
diatribe about Latino actors playing to type in Hollywood. But the
absolute pleasure of Official Competition is how genuinely,
gently funny it is, and how generous the film is to its characters, who
are exaggerated but never succumb to caricature. For a film where the
opening scenes features Queen Cruz in platform shoes and that wig,
pointedly smoking a cigarette at camera, the film is never quite as
mega-camp as it lazily could have been (although, there was heated debate
post the press screening regarding which of Cruz's outfits was the most
amazing: obviously the gold lamé pants and billowy suit jacket with same
shade piping). Instead, despite the vanity of the characters, there is
warmth generated for the trio as they work together and against each
other, at times conniving against themselves and other times seeming to
support each other (a sub-theme seems to be the essential loneliness of
the artistic creator, as the most revealing moments of
Official Competition occur when we see characters alone,
including a moment where Cruz's character teaches herself the floss dance
- we've all done it - and which is obviously my favourite moment in film
this year, etc).
For any fan of cinema, the sort of quirky events that
Official Competition offers coincide with how we secretly
hope all films are made: a deeply serious but reassuringly absurd
endeavour. Perhaps there was some scope for Cruz's character to be a
little more dictatorial - maybe it's me, but I found her working process
fairly reasonable in a manner which the film positions us against (apart
from a nail-biting scene involving the actors' various trophies and a jaw
crusher - yikes!). But then again, the gentle mocking of the ego and the
essential silliness which Official Competition engenders
doesn’t allow for any real spite or malice. A moment involving Cuevas
using a hired crane to dangle a Roadrunner style massive rock over Felix
and Iván's heads as they perform has a lovely visual pay-off, and there is
a joke where two characters snog for just that little too long which has
the genius timing of mid-era Simpsons. I'm actually smiling thinking of it
again! Official Competition is a late summer comedy whose
cool characterisations and sophisticated folly is unrivalled.
Official Competition is on Netflix
UK/ROI now.