directed by:
Michael Cooke written by: Michael Cooke genre: Drama, Fantasy |
I must have gotten up on the right side of the bed today! Usually, I feel like I’m just a bit of a step behind in most of the films and movies I watch. I’ve always been okay with that, in fact, I try to make an effort to not move too far ahead of the main characters, so that what they’re experiencing, I’m experiencing at the same time as they are. I mean, we’ve all spent time with that annoying person in the room who likes to guess out loud about what they think a movie is all about, scene after scene after scene, no matter how wrong they continually are. Nobody wants to be that person, so I try to consciously stay away from that altogether, and allow a movie or film its rightful opportunity to unfold on its own time. That being said, sometimes you see things, like “Up / Down,” where very little is explained in its first act or two, and you don’t have much of a choice other than to hazard a guess as to what the heck is goin’ on. I’m proud to say that after about a couple of minutes of following our main character in his own state of confusion, I was able to figure out where this was going.
What I didn’t know, of course, was how brilliant the mind of Michael Cooke would be in presenting this idea to us, and how layered it ended up being. As the sole Writer & Director for “Up / Down,” I think this dude deserves a serious amount of credit for how interesting he’s made this concept become. I’ll try not to give too much away here, but I advise caution in reading further – you can’t really discuss this film without directly addressing some of what it’s going to make you think about. On the bright side, that’s completely intentional and inherent to the script…as in, you really can’t make a film like this without it provoking some kind of serious discussion – that’s how thought-provoking “Up / Down” really is. As I’ve said many times throughout reviews that I’ve written on all kinds of stuff from music to movies, discussion is good & encouraged, debate is great too – it’s indifference that you want to avoid. As creators in any medium, I don’t know if we should care all that much if someone does or doesn’t like or love what we do; as far as I’m concerned, having someone hate what we create would still be way better than them feeling nothing at the end of all that hard work, right? So provoke a reaction! Get the people talking! You’ll find that when it comes right down to it, that’s better than silence by a long shot. I’ll say this to start – “Up / Down” is a strong enough concept to make an entire series out of if Cooke felt so inclined to take this further. I’ll walk you through the basic gist and how I came to my own conclusions about what this was about shortly before it was revealed in more detail. First of all, you’ve got the clue in the title. You’ll realize pretty quickly that “Up / Down” ain’t about an elevator ride, it’s not about a rollercoaster (though okay, metaphorically, you could potentially make an argument for that) – and so you’re really left with one last conclusion, aren’t you? We’ve all been thoroughly exposed to what is perceived to be “Up” way, way above us in the afterlife – and we’re just as familiar with the concept of what would be “Down” way, way below us, too. I’m not even asking for you to be rooted in some kind of belief in any of that, especially considering the fact that I don’t believe in that stuff myself – but to say we haven’t all considered it or thought about it would be misleading, right? I still LOVE the idea of there being a heaven and a hell, even if I don’t personally think that’s where we end up going at the end of it all. What I can tell you I REALLY love, though, is the concept of there being a level found in between…a kind of like…processing queue, that sorts out the good from the bad…which is a lot of what it seems like “Up / Down” chooses to spend its time focused on. So you see a receptionist, another person waiting to be called upon, a priest who is extremely happy for the opportunity to make his case to go “Up” – and the utter confusion of the newest arrival, John Karlston, also played by Michael Cooke.
Not to go off on too much of a tangent, but my favourite all-time episode of “Red Dwarf,” and perhaps ANY show I’ve ever watched, is called “The Inquisitor.” If you know, you know. It’s all about trying to justify the lives we live to the one person who should be able to know whether or not we really lived up to our full potential – yourself. I know what you’re thinking – that’s terrifying, right? You know the good, the bad, and the ugly, better than anyone else does…and you can’t really lie to yourself if you’re being honest. Anyhow. Who better to determine whether or not you’d go “Up” or “Down” – right? I’m not saying that Cooke’s film goes too far into this particular idea once presented by a bunch of English blokes on public access television from way back in the day, but there is certainly a subtle similarity of how this works when you’re watching Karlston have his conversation with the Angel, played brilliantly by Hunter Bishop. As John is piecing together where he’s ended up and what that means for him, the Angel asks him earnestly, “So tell me, how was it?” You could look at this question as very similar to the way that The Inquisitor asked the characters of “Red Dwarf” to “justify” themselves. It just sounds a whole lot friendlier coming from an Angel, but the question is still quite a serious one. Obviously, being put on the spot with such a monumental query, some imagery helps to jog the mind, and John is shown visuals of some of the highlights he experienced in life that made it worth living. Some of it he clearly remembers, and some of it, he’s happy to be reminded of. Of course, things can’t quite be as simple as that – and you gotta take the good with the bad. The Angel remains completely polite and professional as John tries to figure out where he really belongs, and that introduces the beauty in the subtlety of this film. We can see the panic on John’s face as he’s forced to confront some of the things he believes could possibly send him “Down” instead of “Up” – but isn’t that fully understandable? Wouldn’t YOU feel panicked as well if you needed to make the case that you lived a good life? What if you did something bad by accident – does that count? You’d be freaking out as you went over every little detail from the big life-changing decisions, to simply stepping on a spider, wondering what the criteria would be to determine if you go “Up,” or if you go “Down.” I really felt like Cooke & Bishop did an amazing job with each of their respective roles as we ride through the real emotional journey this film takes us all on. As to which direction he goes…you’re going to have to watch this for yourselves to find out – I’m not here to spoil that for ya. What I can tell you is this – nothing has been left out of this. “Up / Down” is a remarkable example of a film that really has everything it needs and not an ounce more. Cooke clearly had a vision for what he wanted to create, and executed like a complete professional. You can definitely bank on this film being a strong inclusion to his resume that speaks volumes on behalf of what he can do – I want this guy making major movies and television shows in addition to his short films based on all that I’ve seen here. He ran with a great concept, and delivered it flawlessly – it’s as simple as that, really. The finale is solid. I love the twist that you’ll find in Hunter’s character, and the symbolism found there too…angels come in many forms, don’t they? There’s one we can all pretty much universally agree on, and that’s where you’ll find Hunter’s Angel end up as “Up / Down” sticks a seamless landing for Cooke. I think this is extremely strong work, and I was interested in every ticking second of this film – I actually even watched it about three times…and I don’t often do that. I’m going with a full endorsement of both the film and of Cooke, and giving “Up / Down” four and a half stars out of five – this film is exceptional. |
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