Film Review: "Happy New Year, Colin Burstead" (2018).

From the director of High-Rise comes Happy New Year, Colin Burstead. This British comedy-drama film written and directed by Ben Wheatley. The film follows Colin, who hires a lavish country manor for his extended family to celebrate New Year. Unfortunately for Colin his position of power in the family is under serious threat from the arrival of his estranged brother David.

Loosely based on the Shakespearian tragedy, based on the life of the legendary Roman leader Caius Marcius Coriolanus. Coriolanus is the name given to a Roman general after his military success against various uprisings challenging the government of Rome. Following this success, Coriolanus becomes active in politics and seeks political leadership. His temperament is unsuited for popular leadership and he is quickly deposed, whereupon he aligns himself to set matters straight according to his own will. The alliances he forges along the way result in his ultimate downfall. After seeing Tom Hiddleston playing Coriolanus while casting High-Rise (2015), Wheatley wrote the script. He reduced the plot to its bare bones and rebuilt it in a modern context. The film's working title was Colin You Anus. By the beginning of 2018, Neil Maskell, Hayley Squires, Sam Riley, Doon Mackichan, Joe Cole, and Charles Dance were cast. At the same time, principal photography commenced, and took place at Pennsylvania Castle at the Isle of Portland, Dorset, England.

Wheatley has made smart choices here, notably by surrounding Maskell with a strong secondary cast. The other actors do their best to help Maskell define this curious anti-hero. Incapable of playing the role of peacetime compromiser, his Coriolanus archetype comes across as a son who simply can't function without conflict. Maskell leads a cast that, at least in the major roles, is uniformly powerful. The performances are uniformly excellent, and Maskell owns the role, conceiving of him as a son with his descent into wilfully family activities.

Visceral and visually striking, Wheatley's version of Coriolanus proves Shakespeare can still be both electrifying and relevant in a modern context. Happy New Year, Colin Burstead not only finds all the contemporary parallels, it reiterates the tragedy of the endlessly exploited individual who hopes to earn love at the end of a barrel. It's writing that entertains while tapping into enduring human truths. The play's inherent difficulties notwithstanding, the film is a perfectly sound achievement. While setting Shakespeare in modern times is nothing new, Wheatley's bruising, brutal take is both refreshing in its honesty and may be true to the Bard's spirit. Wheatley's choice to adapt the play as a modern political power struggle is sometimes successful in its union of Shakespeare's prose to contemporary sociopolitical unrest, but also reveals itself to be a stale, pale echo of the bard's original play. The film is a determinedly grim but smart, resonant, faithful to the tone of the original, done with some skill and conviction. This play very rarely gets performed in any medium, so for Shakespeare enthusiasts I'd say it's a must-see but you can skip it if that's not your bag.

Simon says Happy New Year, Colin Burstead receives:

Also, see my review for Free Fire.