As far as the experience goes, the Manchester Cornerhouse is pretty snazzy. Comfortable chairs, long sloping pews and interesting short films shown before the film starts, make it better than any Empire or Cineworld. That being said, it shows mainly foreign or “indie” films and is pretty difficult to get to.
So I watched No. A film about an advertising agent who (eventually) decides to produce a TV campaign for the election of a certain candidate in Chile, 1988, hence why the film is called “No”. Now, on the face of it, the film sounds pretty tedious, and it is, but nowhere near as tedious as it could have been. The story involves some moments of interest, mainly where people get blasted with water cannons, that keep you half-awake.
The acting, on the other hand, is pretty lackluster. Gael García Bernal, arguably the most famous and skilled South American actor, though it’s difficult to see why. It’s not hard to play a miserable, bitter man who doesn’t really know what he believes because that’s pretty much who everyone is nowadays. Seriously, at first he is against doing the campaign, then he suddenly has a change of heart without really giving his reasons. I suppose Bernal played the part well, but the character didn’t really call for some excellent acting.
The whole story is pretty dull. There was potential to make it more interesting with the introduction of hired assassins, but they seem to disappear as fast as my concentration levels. The colours are dull, he whole ambience is depressing and not much actually happens. It all leads up to a climax that has been built up far too much, only to be resolved in a matter of seconds.
So No is not worth a watch, unless you really care about 1980s Chilean politics.
Prepare to be Bloggled! 