Incendiary (2008/I)

User Rating:

6.0/10   

Director:

Sharon Maguire

Writers:

Chris Cleave (book)
Sharon Maguire (screenplay)

Release Date:

24 October 2008 (UK)

Genre:

Drama | Romance | Thriller

Tagline:

The truth can blow you apart.

Plot:

An adulterous woman's life is torn apart when her husband and infant son are killed in a suicide bombing at a soccer match.

Plot Keywords:

Beach | Mother | Caravan | Female Nudity | Adultery

Cast

Michelle Williams	...	Young Mother
Ewan McGregor	...	Jasper Black
Matthew Macfadyen	...	Terrance
Sidney Johnston	...	The Boy
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Jonathan Andrews	...	Policeman
Ehti Aslam
Sasha Behar	...	Bomber's Wife
Robin Berry	...	Dazed Supporter
Gavin Brocker	...	Detective Tony Jackson
Nicholas Courtney	...	Archbishop of Canterbury
Chris Ellis	...	The Dead Son
Monty Fromant	...	Security Guard
Nicholas Gleaves	...	Lenny
Edward Hughes	...	Danny Walsh
Usman Khokhar	...	Bomber's Son
Chris Mansfield	...	Police Officer
Joe Marshall	...	Gary
Ricci McLeod
Terry McShane	...	Mourner
Brian Meggs	...	Supporter
Thomas Meggs	...	Supporter
Julie Rochford	...	Dazed Supporter
Enzo Squillino Jr.	...	Newsagent
Satu Suominen
Michael Thompson
Tola	...	Football Player / Supporter
Benjamin Wilkin	...	Policeman
Chris Wilson	...	CO19 Officer
Simon Wilson	...	Commuter on train

MPAA:

Rated R for a strong sex scene and brief language.

Runtime:

96 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Ireland:16 | Finland:K-13 | USA:R | Netherlands:12 | Portugal:M/12

Filming Locations:

Camber Sands, Camber, East Sussex, England, UK

Company:

Aramid Entertainment Fund

Trivia:

Natalie Dormer filmed two days, playing the role of Ewan McGregor's girlfriend, but her role ended up on the cutting room floor. Nevertheless, she called it a "great experience".

Goofs:

Continuity: In the scene where her husband's boss is taking her to the memorial for the dead, her facial cuts are quite healed and well into the scarring stage. But a few minutes later in the scene where she's watching home movies, her facial cuts appear to be freshly scabbed over and quite irritated around the edges.

Quotes:

Young Mother: I've heard it said that grief is like an animal to some. With a life of its own and we are at its mercy. I don't know about that. Grief is the stillness of the world the moment my boy left it. It's that quiet rain that never stops falling. They say that grief transforms us. I know it's transforming me, but into what?

Movie Connections:

References The Evil Dead (1981)

expectations..

i think the main problem with the movie isn't the movie, it's that people are going in expecting a thriller instead of a drama. yes the major plot points could be covered in 5 minutes.. but that's not the point of drama. your average thriller is about things that happen and happen to have people in them. this movie is about the people and how they feel and cope when something momentous happens. if you appreciate that you'll appreciate the movie better, or not watch it cos it's not something that appeals to you.. and that's fair enough.

As far as the film goes, Michelle Williams carries it well. The accent's fine and the various states she goes through as she tries to deal with what has happened never feel you leaving disconnected or not understanding how she got there.

McGregor is his usual charming self, tho his is not really a major part (likewise MacFadyen), this is a movie about the mother and so these two don't get an awful lot of screen time.

The one fault i'd say is that the passage of time is not particularly well expressed particularly right at the end of the film when what seems to be a present day Ewan is wearing the exact same outfit as in the next scene which must be set sometime after.

Regardless, it's a decent movie, but requiring empathy.. so if you prefer action flicks, watch something else.