Bullhead (B- or 2.5/4 stars)
Belgium's Oscar-nominated 'Bullhead' (written/directed by Michael Roskam) is a strange, harrowing tale of revenge/redemption/fate about meat, mafia, & manhood. It's dark, brutal, and proves to be a difficult, yet fascinating character study. The film revolves around brooding cattle farmer Jacky Vanmarsenille, who gets mixed-up in a shady deal involving a veterinarian & a mafioso beef trader that results in the murder of a cop investigating the use of illegal hormones in meat-packing plants. Jacky is played with ferocious power by Belgian newcomer Matthias Schoenaerts, whose menacing swagger masks a sad, almost desperate emptiness.
Jacky constantly pumps himself up on injections of hormones & steroids. And Michael Roskam takes his time in revealing why Jacky needs to shoot up. 20 yrs. earlier, as a pre-teen, Jacky was assaulted by the miserable Bruno Scheper, who smashed his genitals with a brick for fun. Jacky has spent his adult life trying to appear & act manly, overdoing the testosterone injections to grow a beard, deepen his voice, & enlarge his muscles as a masquerade.
Meanwhile, his family has held a huge grudge against the Schepers, not only for what they did to destroy Jacky's manhood, but also for their mob connections; which other meat-packing opposes. Jacky's best pal, Diederik, was the only witness to the brick incident, but his father forbade him to tell the cops the truth. It all went down as an "official" accident. But Jacky has been waiting all these yrs. for revenge, & the meat trading double-cross is a fate that could lead to redemption, as well. Now he has a chance to put the Schepers away, at the same time reconnecting with Lucia Scheper (a very naturalistic Jeanne Dandoy), sister of the notorious Bruno. Jacky must face his demons, as well as the consequences of some of his late-breaking actions.
'Bullhead' (the title refers to both the slaughterhouse where Jacky works AND to Jacky himself, since he identifies with the bulls he injects with hormones) tells quite the tragedy about people's stupidity, loss of innocence, vanity, crime, punishment, & morbid fate. It also has quite the labyrinthine story, with a myriad of sinister characters. There's even a persistent subplot that pits Flemish-speaking Belgians vs. French-speaking Belgians that distracts from the overall impact of the movie. Hence, my reasoning for giving this film a B- and not an A is because the crime thriller/police procedural part is too over-plotted & opaque. You always want the story to be squarely focused on Jacky & the lingering trauma of his very personal misfortune, and not on obscure subplots that detract from the central tragedy.
Matthias Schoenaerts portrays a man who is - at once - pathetic, repulsive, & yet unbelievably heartbreaking. So while this all makes him difficult to watch, you also can't take your eyes from him ... even when his character (and the movie with him) is so tragically hopeless. And be forewarned, not only are sections of 'Bullhead' dismally sad, but some are not for the squeamish, either (brick scene, bull scene, elevator scene). I had to even turn away from the screen. All that said, because of Matthias Schoenaerts' insistent presence & haunting portrayal, this is a movie that every true film fan should definitely check out.
Jacky constantly pumps himself up on injections of hormones & steroids. And Michael Roskam takes his time in revealing why Jacky needs to shoot up. 20 yrs. earlier, as a pre-teen, Jacky was assaulted by the miserable Bruno Scheper, who smashed his genitals with a brick for fun. Jacky has spent his adult life trying to appear & act manly, overdoing the testosterone injections to grow a beard, deepen his voice, & enlarge his muscles as a masquerade.
Meanwhile, his family has held a huge grudge against the Schepers, not only for what they did to destroy Jacky's manhood, but also for their mob connections; which other meat-packing opposes. Jacky's best pal, Diederik, was the only witness to the brick incident, but his father forbade him to tell the cops the truth. It all went down as an "official" accident. But Jacky has been waiting all these yrs. for revenge, & the meat trading double-cross is a fate that could lead to redemption, as well. Now he has a chance to put the Schepers away, at the same time reconnecting with Lucia Scheper (a very naturalistic Jeanne Dandoy), sister of the notorious Bruno. Jacky must face his demons, as well as the consequences of some of his late-breaking actions.
'Bullhead' (the title refers to both the slaughterhouse where Jacky works AND to Jacky himself, since he identifies with the bulls he injects with hormones) tells quite the tragedy about people's stupidity, loss of innocence, vanity, crime, punishment, & morbid fate. It also has quite the labyrinthine story, with a myriad of sinister characters. There's even a persistent subplot that pits Flemish-speaking Belgians vs. French-speaking Belgians that distracts from the overall impact of the movie. Hence, my reasoning for giving this film a B- and not an A is because the crime thriller/police procedural part is too over-plotted & opaque. You always want the story to be squarely focused on Jacky & the lingering trauma of his very personal misfortune, and not on obscure subplots that detract from the central tragedy.
Matthias Schoenaerts portrays a man who is - at once - pathetic, repulsive, & yet unbelievably heartbreaking. So while this all makes him difficult to watch, you also can't take your eyes from him ... even when his character (and the movie with him) is so tragically hopeless. And be forewarned, not only are sections of 'Bullhead' dismally sad, but some are not for the squeamish, either (brick scene, bull scene, elevator scene). I had to even turn away from the screen. All that said, because of Matthias Schoenaerts' insistent presence & haunting portrayal, this is a movie that every true film fan should definitely check out.