Largo
Directed by Brenton Priestley.
Starring Lachlan Rhys Mantell, Brenton Priestley, Drew Mantell.
The Evening
Once again, Brenton Priestley chose to premiere his latest film with the Adelaide University Film Society (Thursday 27th May 2004). The tradition of having technical difficulties at the beginning of the screening was continued with the disc stopping partway through the opening credits. And, as tradition dictates, this only added to feeling of anticipation. The film screening was followed by nibbles and an interesting and entertaining question and answer time.
Synopsis
Will and Jake are twin brothers, socially and financially struggling through first year uni. We are taken for a journey into their world and we witness the events leading up to the turning point of their young lives, as narrated by Will.
Will (Lachlan Rhys Mantell) is the quiet talented brother, battling through the selection process for a lucrative music scholarship. Jake (Drew Mantell) is the cooler brother, trying to fit into student life. To support himself he starts to sell performance-enhancing drugs to other students.
Both brothers separately meet fellow student Largo. He is a brilliant, brash, belligerent, bad-tempered, foul-mouthed perfectionist with a cockney accent and a genius for music. He is obsessed with the Falklands War and is working on a serious opera on the subject. Largo is everyone’s nightmare opponent. Talented and arrogantly sure of himself, he is a serious contender for the music scholarship that Will so desperately needs.
As the story unfolds, the brothers’ mutual connection to Largo leads to the film’s climax, and the turning point in their lives — which is an edge of your seat experience.
Critique
In everything writer/director/actor/producer Brenton Priestley does, there is an element of greatness. You just know that he is someone to watch for in the future. Low budget films can be tedious, single noted affairs, but with Priestley you know that there will be an interesting story and special effects that go far beyond the usual low budget fare. Priestley’s attention to detail is a wonder to behold with elements that make you sit up and appreciate that you are watching something special.
Interestingly enough, my highest praise and strongest criticism are both directed at visual elements of this film.
If there is anything that I have to be critical about in the construction of Largo it is the camerawork and overall cinematography. Priestley’s previous film, Blood Brothers, impressed me in a number of ways, but especially with the camerawork. In contrast, visually, Largo is a mixed bag.
One of the highlights of the film was the beautiful opening title sequence, shot in black and white, and in wide screen (16:9 aspect ratio), stylishly introducing us to the character Largo, precisely cleaning his piano’s keys … with a cigarette hanging out of the side of his mouth.
The majority of the rest of the film is shot in an amateurish wobbly cam style, which I found distracting and at times annoying — despite being peppered throughout with wonderful visual effects. During the after-film question and answer time, Priestley said that he was looking for a documentary look for this film. If this is the case it is unfortunate that the stylish black and white opening titles were used as they opened the film with the promise of slick cinematic production techniques, rather than the documentary style that followed.
The story itself is interesting, although the parts that follow the film’s climax appeared superfluous and detracted from the effect of the climax.
Opinion Summary
Overall, Largo is worth checking out. Even if the majority of the camerawork is annoying, the visual surprises take the film to a place above amateur.
Question and Answer Time with Brenton Priestley (writer, director, actor, producer), Alexander Freezer (executive producer), Lachlan Rhys Mantell (actor), and Drew Mantell (actor)
During the question and answer time a number of interesting facts about the film were revealed, including the following:
- Largo only cost $180.00 to make.
- Lachlan and Drew are twin brothers.
- The visual style that annoyed me was inspired by the film Nil by Mouth (1997) Gary Oldman’s powerful, gritty, thoroughly depressing, brilliant directorial debut (my take on Oldman’s film, not Brenton’s).
The evening was finished off with a rousing round of applause for Brenton, Alex, Lachlan and Drew — and well deserved it was too! When should we pencil in the next opening night, Brenton?
Esther Speight
