The Girl with All the Gifts (2016)

I've been looking forward to watching this movie and it didn't disappoint! I am a big horror/thriller/drama fan, and I do love zombie movies, and this was a completely new variation that focused more on the human story, which I also love, but the story behind it all is unlike other films I've seen. I'd say this is more of a drama with thriller/horror aspects mainly due to the situation the characters are in, and I'd encourage everyone to give it a watch! The acting is great, the story is unique and interesting and It was not predictable at all. I haven't read the book but I'm going to do so next. I really enjoyed this movie!

Fmovies: The Girl with all the Gifts is an eerie, strange, somewhat under-seen gem from director Colm Mccarthy. The film opens incredibly strong, I went into this film knowing absolutely nothing about it, which is the best way to approach this film. It starts with a British school teacher Helen(Gemma Arterton) who is teaching a classroom full of chained up children in an underground bunker. The audience is given next to no information as to whats happening, which is very effective and makes us sympathetic towards the children's situation. It's made even more effective when children are sent to the base doctor, Dr. Caldwell(Glenn Close) in which they are never seen again.

When the film finally reveals it's hand sympathies flip, and it becomes evident as to why the soldiers and medical staff are so afraid of the kids. This goes doubly for the girl with all the gifts Melanie(Sennia Nanua) who displays incredible abilities, along side brutal savagery. During the course of the film she develops a connection to Helen, so when she's next to be experimented on it's up to Helen to save her. As this happens the base becomes compromised and it's down to Helen, Melanie, Dr. Caldwell and Sgt. Parks(Paddy Considine) to navigate through the hostile, dilapidated ruins of Britain to join up with other survivors and try and find a cure to a fungal disease that has ravaged the planet.

The first thing I have to mention is the hauntingly creepy, ethereal score by Cristoba Tapia de Veer. It's an uncanny, eerie piece of work that is unnerving and adds extra layers upon the tone and atmosphere of the film. The direction of the film is just as strong, seeing familiar sites being reclaimed by nature is stunning to look at, and reminded me a lot of The Last of Us video game. The only negative aspect to the cinematography was that a-lot of scenes were a bit too washed out with greys and browns, which felt a bit dull during the forest scenes in the film. The film also boasts strong performances across the board, with the standout being Sennia Nanua as the young girl Melanie. She managed to not only hold her own against veteran actors, but delivered a phenomenal performance despite this being her debut feature.

My only real complaint I had with the film is one that is inherent in the Zombie/infected genre itself. It treads a-lot of the same ground that these types of films have done before, So at times it feels like you are going over same beats of previous films. What separates this film from the sea of recent infected films is its incredible soundtrack, beautiful floral cinematography, and its focus on its characters rather then action set pieces. The film has no problem taking a few minutes to slow down and explore its characters.

I remember once having a ridiculous drunken dispute at a works Christmas party many year's ago that went along the lines of "if you had the chance to save the world, but had to kill your child to do it, what would you do". There's a variant of this conundrum at the heart of this brilliant new film from Colm McCarthy, best know for his TV work on shows like "Peaky Blinders", "Sherlock" and "Dr Who".

As most people already realize, this is a 'Zombie film' (cue, a number of other single blokes in the cinema) and illustrates the dangers of not treating that Athlete's Foot as soon as it appears! I would normally provide a quick synopsis here, but I really think this is a case in point where it is best to go into the film as blind as possible to the story and let it envelop you. (This includes not watching the whole trailer if possible.) To merely set the scene, we open with a morning school ritual like none you've seen before: children strapped to wheelchairs by heavily armed military in their cells; wheeled to an underground classroom; then made to sit in serried rows being taught by their teacher Helen Justineau (a deliciously un-made-up and natural Gemma Arterton). What IS going on? Who ARE these children? WHY are the soldiers so scared and dismissive of them? The ever-great Paddy Considine ("Pride") plays army Sergeant Parks (who also has a bit of a crush on Helen) and Glenn Close plays Dr Caroline Caldwell, who is studying the children in more ways than one.

This trio of stars, supported notably later in the film by Fisayo Akinade as the trooper Kieran, turn in what is a superb ensemble performance. As for Glenn Close, I have never quite been able to shake her awful "silk blouse" performance in "Air Force One" from my mind, but here she is quite mesmerizing in the role of the Doctor on a mission: I would suggest a career best. Her final scene reflects such a complex range of emotions, and is brilliantly executed. And Gemma Arterton pulls out all the emotional stops in what is also one of the performances of the year.

But good as these performances are, they would be nothing without the central performance of young Sennia Nanua as the titular "Girl". I have made the point before that there should be an Oscar category for "Young Actors" rather than pitch them into the adult categories like Quvenzhane Wallis and Anna Paquin were (successfully). Here in her debut feature performance Sennia is just mesmerising and (provided this film gets the recognition it justly deserves) she should be a shoe-in for the BAFTA Rising Star award next year, if not an Actress nomination. A young lady most definitely to watch.

Also assuming a starring role is Chilean-born composer Cristobal Tapia de Veer's astonishingly effective music which drives up the tension superbly. This is his feature film debut and another name to watch.

The screenplay by Mike Carey from his original novel is beautifully crafted, with some great one liners dropped in to ease the tension a notch. And the story adds a level of emotional depth and angst that surpasses other films of this genre, at least as far back as the "28 Days" films.

Astonishingly, the film was made on a budget of 4 (FOUR!) Million Pounds, giving it a 'BvS quotient' (see bob-the-movie-man.com!) of 2.1%!! Every penny of that budget is up on the screen, and whilst you might like to pick at a few of the matte paintings and effects,

The Girl with All the Gifts fmovies. One film I was looking forward to in 2016 was THE PURGE ELECTION NIGHT but that ended up as a predictable disappointment . There was nothing else cinema wise that was on the horizon until I caught Mark Kermode's movie review on the BBC where he raved about a low budget British horror movie THE GIRL WITH ALL THE GIFTS . Catching a couple of short clips I was instantly intrigued and thought to myself how similar it was to Danny Boyle's 28 DAYS LATER . Despite Kermode's praise it's a film that seemed to disappear very quickly with little acclaim . Despite this I made a point of catching it first opportunity I got so what better way to celebrate the start of 2017 by watching the film that wins my award of the best film of 2016

Yes you read that right a low budget British zombie apocalypse movie is my favourite movie of 2016 . I know I didn't see too many films last year but even so this doesn't negate TGWATG in any way shape or form . It's only a zombie film on the surface and scratch away the wafer thin surface and you've something totally compelling and multi-layered

Okay let's get the very few negatives out of the way first . First thing is the central character Melanie is just far too knowing to be entirely convincing as a child , but I guess that's narrative convention . Secondly the first 15 minutes of the film builds up a lot of mystery as to who Melanie and the other children might be , but this mystery becomes totally redundant if you know what type of sub-genre you're watching . Thirdly the army unit is more cosmopolitan than the united colours of Benneton . For some reason every TV show and film has the British army being more racially diverse than Daesh/ISIS

Positives ? I'd just tell you watch the movie but that'd be too easy . If you're expecting a relatively straight forward take on 28 DAYS LATER you'll be very surprised because nearly everything here surpasses Boyle's film especially the story details . The quasi zombies nicknamed "Hungries" have suffered their condition due to a fungal infection and the fungus adds another obstacle for the human survivors to worry about. Some scenes are genuinely disturbing but the most chilling scene involves Dr Caroline Caldwell describe an incident in a maternity ward . Let's just say if you know anyone who is pregnant don't let them see this movie . Yeah it's only a movie but it's so intense and convincing that I'm glad I'll never get pregnant . In fact I'm glad of there being little chance of me getting anyone pregnant

With a budget of £4.000.000 director Colm McCarthy works miracles and the two best aspects are using an amorphous soundtrack by Cristobal Tapia de Veer which is oppressive and atmospheric in equal measure and McCarthy - "British foreign legion" aside - casts well . Gemma Arterton proves she's more than a pretty face , Close and Considene are better than usual and the real revelation is Sennia Nanua as Melanie who makes her feature film debut and this will certainly not be the last we'll be hearing from her

I don't want to over hype TGWATG but I was looking forward to seeing it and all expectations were surpassed by a very long margin . I should guard my back somewhat by stating once again by stating this is a grim . gritty but great apocalyptic thriller . I like these type of stories but even so I'm going to have trouble sleeping for a long time . It's undoubtedly the best horror film I'

I'm really aggravated by people who think this was a "boring zombie movie" that "wasn't scary." Look... the movie is called THE GIRL WITH ALL THE GIFTS. It's a movie about a girl... who happens to be a zombie... and her desire to come to terms with who she is, and her right to live in spite of it. NO it's not full of scares and gory zombie kills... that's not what it's about. If you can appreciate a good story about a little girl who happens to be a zombie then you'll see the beauty in this film. There still GREAT zombie action though... It was very well done, had an excellent cast, and Sennia Nanua shined.

Full commentary WITH spoilers on YouTube/Twitter @moviebuffchick1

https://youtu.be/wwm1nWFOwBI

Excellent performances and interesting source material (MR Carey adapting his own novel), plus imaginative direction (Scottish director Colm McCarthy), create a chilling sci-fi tale of hungries (zombies) versus humanity.

The opening sequence sets the tone. Melanie, a young, polite, and courteous girl manacles herself into a wheel chair. She seems entirely innocent and harmless, yet her captors fear otherwise. She and other children, each similarly restrained, are given an armed escort to a classroom. It's an arresting start and it grabs our attention. Sennia Nanua plays Melanie and the story revolves around her. We watch society collapsing through her eyes, see her threatened by the human beings around her, and fear for her. We watch her do terrible things, and yet we root for her. Everything is uncertain. Nothing is as it seems. It's a brilliant performance from a new talent, and it serves the film perfectly.

Melanie is surrounded by contrasting emotions from those nearest to her. Gemma Arterton is excellent as protective and caring psychologist/teacher Helen Justineau, fiercely defending Melanie against the machinations of Dr Caroline Caldwell (Glenn Close) who sees Melanie as a specimen to be dissected. Paddy Considine convinces as Sergeant Eddie Parks, a tough, no- nonsense soldier fighting a losing battle.

Colm McCarthy brings this all together superbly, belying the film's modest budget. Striking visuals and frenetic action are never allowed to overwhelm the characters, who take centre stage. And at it's heart is Melanie. Confusing, ambivalent, terrifying, lovable Melanie. It's a wonderful turn from Sennia Nanua.

Highly recommended, and vastly superior to most of the genre.