The remake of the Danish film Brødre is the latest in a steady stream of films set against the backdrop of the war in Afghanistan. Amongst these there has yet to be any stand-out film, one that will become the definitive cinematic account of the home front for this conflict, as The Deer Hunter has become for Vietnam. Brothers is not going to be this film. Whilst it is indeed a worthy effort, it seems content to sit somewhere in the middle, producing a film that is solid, but in the end unremarkable.

Tobey Maguire and Jake Gyllenhaal play the brothers Sam and Tommy respectively. Polar opposites, Sam is a decorated Marine, a loving husband and father, whilst Tommy is fresh out of prison and wanders aimlessly through life. But when Sam is shot down and presumed dead in Afghanistan their roles begin to reverse. Back home Tommy steps into his brother’s shoes, whilst the order of Sam’s perfect life begins to break down as he is tortured both physically and mentally. When he is eventually freed and returns home he is a visibly changed man, and now it is Sam rather than Tommy who starts to create conflict within the family.

The first half of the film is divided between the stories of the two brothers. We watch the parallel development of Sam and Tommy as they face two very different challenges. However, Sam’s captivity and breakdown are given relatively little screentime compared to what we see of Tommy as he rises to the occasion. This leaves the key moment, where his resolve finally breaks with devastating results, appearing all too suddenly.

Whilst Tommy’s development is allowed to occur gradually, Sam’s has to take place in a far shorter space of time, making it a lot less convincing. When Maguire’s character finally returns home, the focus shifts back onto him, which is a shame given that Gyllenhaal provides by far the more engaging performance.

So, while it may have been Maguire who clinched the Golden Globe nomination, I was somewhat unconvinced by his portrayal of a traumatised solider trying to readjust to family life. In this respect his performance seemed to consist of an intense stare, helped along with some uncharacteristic lines and a bit of make-up, all of which combined to make him appear lobotomised more than anything else.

He lacked the subtlety required to portray such a complex state of mind. Indeed, the only point at which I found him at all convincing was when Sam completely breaks down, giving him free-range to shout and smash up the furniture.

In what is clearly a character-driven film the weak link is very much Maguire, whose performance does not meet the demands placed upon him by the writers. It is a shame then that Gyllenhaal, though he is given the chance to shine for the first half of the film or so, is then scandalously under-used as we progress. In the end, even Gyllenhaal’s accomplished performance is not quite enough to propel this otherwise rather forgettable film beyond mediocrity.

three stars

The artist formerly known as Final Fantasy is back, and his new album is quite something. Famed for his minimalist live performances, involving just him, his violin and his loop pedal, Pallett’s sound on Heartland is more expansive, if no less beautiful, than before. The instrumentation wonderfully blends his usual string arrangements with a new penchant for electronics, and (*gasps*) even drums. But these aren’t your standard beats, and opener ‘Midnight Directives’ sounds more like the work of Bjork producer Valgeir Sigurðsson or Mark Bell than anyone else. ‘The Great Elsewhere’ is a brilliant example of this unity between electronica and orchestration – starting out with minimalist beeps, then developing with frenetic drums and violin accompaniment until its climax, where the string section and the piano take over entirely for the outro – at every stage, a work of phenomenal beauty.

The album is thematically idiosyncratic to say the least. ‘A concatenation of locusts / And the farm­ers are los­ing their focus’ might seem a strange couple of lines to sing, but given this is a concept album chronicling the times of Lewis, a farmer on an alternative world Spectrum, it makes perfect sense. Ok, admittedly you have to be prepared for the slightly weird to fully appreciate this album, but if you are, you will be richly rewarded.

The lyrics themselves are beautiful and insightful in equal measure. In the wonderful ‘E Is For Estranged’ Pallett observes ‘Pathos is borne, borne out of bullshit in formal attire’, and in ‘Keep The Dog Quiet’, that ‘This place is a a narrative mess/A floor of tangle of bedsheets and battered sundress’. ‘Oh Heartland, Up Yours!’ is soulfully delivered by Pallett, with the touching and almost tragic refrain ‘I will not sing your praises here’. I’m afraid that is the only element of the album that I will not subscribe to here.

Everything was beautiful and free/In the beginning’, muses Eels’ lyricist Mark Everett (also known as E) on the album opener. Not the most original insight, arguably, but for an album thematically termed by the frontman as ‘the divorce album’, it sets the tone for a sincerely felt if not a rather poignant record.

The songs are heartfelt, and, although not groundbreaking or life-changing, E does manage to bring something new to a well-trodden path; this is clear from the lyrics of lead single ‘A Line In The Dirt’ (‘She locked herself in the bathroom again/So I am pissing in the yard’). Charming.

This isn’t just a break-up album though, as E’s concerns are wider. The album is called ‘End Times’, and the artwork is a portrait of the artist as an old man. There are most definitely thematic concerns about aging as well, in stubborn defiance on the title-track (‘The world is ending/And what do I care’), the rueful ‘In My Younger Days’ and the unbelievably personal ‘I Need A Mother’.

It’s not entirely glum though. The bluesy (unsurprisingly) ‘Paradise Blues’ is an energetic, Tom Waits-style number, even if this is just in delivery and not thanks to skillful or imaginative lyricism (I didn’t notice the line ‘Well that’s some crazy-ass shit’ on Swordfishtrombones, though I might be wrong).

‘Gone Man’ is also a fun release, giving the album some needed variation – most of the other songs are just E and his guitar, often complaining along the lines of ‘Goddamn/I miss that girl’. Although it is sincerely felt, his lyrics (or guitar work) aren’t original enough to make this by any means a classic. For that, you might just need to do think beyond pissing on a lawn.

four stars

Ian Watkins said that this album would be darker. The static at the opening of the first track implies as much. The fact that the lead single of Liberation Transmission, ‘Rooftops’, was unbelievably well received, despite its lack of originality, made me hope as much. The band don’t disappoint – not for the first two tracks.

‘If It Wasn’t For Hate, We’d Be Dead By Now’ might have a P!AD aesthetic, but the compulsive Test-Icicles drum-hook and dark delivery give it edge (even if the concept is a repeated-to-death pseudo-paradox). DSTRYR/DSTRYR is Mellon Collie Pumpkins meets RATM’s ‘Bull’s on Parade’; again, Watkins’ delivery is a highlight. ‘The Light That Burns Twice As Bright’, a sombre, piano-led closer, touches on poignant, exploding after three minutes in an impressive fashion.

Unfortunately the attempt to make atmospheric tracks doesn’t last long. ‘Where We Belong’ is a cheap and inferior Blink-182 imitation, and things don’t recover until the very end. Darkened musical interludes don’t hide the fact the songs are very standard Lostprophets; even the interesting violin-led intro of ‘A Better Nothing’ descends into the same pop/punk style. ‘Streets of Nowhere’ has an incomprehensibly ‘mod’ beginning and breaks down like ‘Town Called Malice’, but by the chorus, it’s unavoidably pop/punk.

They try reach out to all sorts of genres but it ends up sounding confused. In a way, the more standard sounding songs, like ‘Dirty Little Heart’, are more effective because they don’t pretend to be anything else. There’s an audience for this album, but songs like ‘For He’s A Jolly Good Felon’ are as annoying as you’d expect. Mind, if you find standing on rooftops, screaming, ‘Aaahaaah,’ cathartic, not irritating, then this album might just be for you.

According to their Twitter feeds, the collaboration between The Smashing Pumpkins’ Billy Corgan and Newly Weds’ Jessica Simpson is going well. The two are showbiz’s most unlikely romantic item, with one half a bastion of musical credibility, and the other, the lead singer of The Smashing Pumpkins.

Only cynics would doubt the longevity of the relationship between the serial celebrity-dater and Courtney Love’s ex, however all Pumpkins’ fans are asking ‘why the musical collaboration? What will it add to music’s rich tapestry?’ – the same questions triggered by many of pop music’s strange coalitions.

Collaborative works have been ample – some brilliant, some hideous, and some, frankly, bizarre – but what makes a musical union work? Surprisingly, it is often the most unlikely combinations that produce the best results.

But first, more partnerships in the Simpson/Corgan vein. Why, I wonder, did Ozzy Osbourne, the man famed for ingesting more illegal substances than Mr Doherty and Miss Winehouse combined, and who reputedly bit off a live bat’s head on stage, join forces with Miss Piggy? Could anything reduce his credibility more? Don’t get me wrong, I have no problem with a heavy metal godfather appearing on The Muppets, but somehow it just doesn’t feel right having ‘The Prince of Darkness’ releasing a single with an anthromorphic pig. The song, released in 2005, is a parody of Steppenwolf’s ‘Born to be Wild’, in which Miss Piggy, looking for Kermit, stumbles across Ozzy who insists she stay and listen. Of co

urse, the song is supposed to be ironic but few find it funny. Not only does the union cheapen the legacy of the original song, it also lessens the reputation of a musical great.

The same bewilderment is conjured by the rework of fabled anthem ‘We Will Rock You’ by two of Queen’s original members, and boy band Five. This version took the top spot of the British singles chart in 2000, to the dismay of music fans the nation over. The song, audaciously credited to ‘Five featuring Queen’, reworks the epic that caught the world’s attention at the original Live Aid, and features some of the wettest rapping one is likely to hear: ‘Watch your back, we got Queen on this track’. Profound eh? Freddie would have turned in his grave. Again, the collaboration achieves nothing; it makes Brian May look silly and Five, sillier.

Of course, joint projects have spawned great music. One of the masters of the musical collaboration is crooner-composer Burt Bacharach. Not only does he have an instinct for lush orchestration and catchy choruses, but he also knows how to select compatible work-mates (maybe the falling point of post-Mercury Queen and Billy Corgan). He’s created enduring sounds with a plethora of great acts since the ‘60s, including The Beatles, Elvis Presley and Dionne Warwick; but perhaps most unusual is his 2005 work with rapper-producer Dr. Dre. The album At This Time is a work that fuses the best attributes of both its creators: Dre’s synthetic beats supplement Bacharach’s orchestral arrangements and gentle vocals in an unexpectedly gimmick-free and cohesive fashion. Perhaps there is hope for Corgan and Simpson.

Unsurprisingly Thom Yorke’s work with Bjork is quite sublime. Yorke has mentioned in the past that he finds working with the right collaborators invigorating, and is noticeably picky when it comes to choosing his sparring partners (he recently turned down an offer of joint work from Paul McCartney). His effort with Bjork produced the number ‘I’ve Seen it All’. Its sound is one you’d expect from such a partnership, though this predictability fails to detract from its beauty. Sparsely orchestrated strings and sporadic percussive beats define the aesthetic, which is glossed with an ethereal and melancholic tone.

It seems that when different artists join forces a reaction of sorts occurs, skewing the output quality in one of two directions – towards the desperate or the exquisite. And it’s this that makes collaborations intriguing. Despite some joint projects representing the woeful, they can appeal in their own way, even if purely for the wince factor. So as long as Bob Dylan doesn’t announce a joint effort with Joe McElderry, I’m happy to listen to any collaborative work that comes my way.

1. Sarah Perry (Oriel)
After shocking Cuppers as director of a highly unusual interpretation of Harold Pinter’s The Lover, Perry went on to win the lead role in The Odyssey, Trinity term’s only Playhouse show.

2. Ollo Clark (Teddy Hall)
Shot to prominence during Cuppers as director and star of the Best Show winner Hansel and Gretel. He takes to the stage again this week in The Magic Toyshop.

3. Carla Neuss (St. Peter’s)
A graduate writer from Berkeley, California, Neuss stormed into the New Writing Festival with Revival, a play about secret cocktail societies.

4. Ruby Thomas (Regent’s Park)
Before claiming the Cuppers Best Actress award, Thomas had appeared in Barnaby Rudge. She once reputedly told a talent-scouting student producer to contact her agent.

5. Chris Wallwork (Christ Church)
Acting runs in his family, with a brother at LAMDA. He impressed the critics in last term’s As You Like It.

6. Chloe Wicks (Brasenose)
What play hasn’t she been in lately? Since arriving in Oxford, Wicks has performed very strongly as an actress and director in Cuppers and elsewhere, as well as making lots of friends in high places. Look out for her in 7th Week’s Blood Wedding.

7. Nicholas Higgins (Teddy Hall)
‘Nik’ Higgins, as he likes to be known, followed a brief but hilarious Cuppers appearance with sterling work in Chris Adams’ excellent A State Affair the week afterwards. Watch out for this talented young actor.

8. Cassie Barraclough (Regent’s Park)
One of the many rising stars at Regent’s Park, Cassie is already known for her unusual method-acting approach. She hugely impressed our reviewer at the preview of Far Away.

9. Ella Evans (Wadham)
Author of Superwoman, which made the initial New Writing Festival shortlist and caused immense controversy among the Cuppers judges, Evans is clearly going to carry on her serene progress through drama at Oxford – leaving a tempest in her wake. And she can act, as well.

10. Jack Peters (Univ)
Peters has impressed everyone he’s come across with his charm and down-to-earth manner – and with his acting, for that matter. He has large amounts of previous experience, landed a diverting role in The Odyssey, and you’ll definitely be seeing more of him in future.