I watched Belfast recently and loved it.
I loved Jude Hill, his face was just gorgeous. All the scenes with him and his (screen) grandparents were really moving. And then there was the relationship between Jamie Dornan, and screen wife Caitríona Balfe. If you didn't already love Dornan before this (and there can't be many of you out there!) you definitely will after watching Belfast. The scene where he thanks his wife for bringing up their children, acknowledging it was her work that made them who they were... it was enough to melt the hardest of hearts.
The writing was amazing too. Because honestly, when Judi Dench shuts her front door and leans her head against the glass, and the credits roll, you really don't expect the film to be ending. And I mean that in a complimentary way. There isn't a second of wasted line or script in the film anywhere, which makes it very easy to keep watching.
But when I came out of the cinema, I was trying to work out what it was that made the film so good.
Apart from the obvious (the acting, a strong script with lots of scenes that all meant something emotionally), I think the camera work had a massive impact on how the film felt. The way Branagh allowed the camera to stay behind and linger on the faces of all the actors.
Life is always so hectic and quite often, it feels like there's never enough time to allow ourselves to do things slowly and take our time. To allow our brains to even process what we are doing.
But when it comes to people and feelings, it's actually really important to take our time. Because after all, people don't just spill stuff out. People take time to talk about how they're feeling and what they've gone through.
Yet because we're all so busy, we're all guilty of putting on an act from time to time. Either pretending we don't care when we do, or that we're stronger than we are, or more confident than we feel. Which is fine - but that only lasts for as long as we can keep up the act.
Take the broken-hearted boyfriend whose girlfriend just broke up with him. He knows there's no going back, but just to save face he puts on a bit of an act, pretending to be ok with it just to save himself from revealing his vulnerability to her. So he walks away, head held high, pretending he'll survive without her.
Which he will.
But we've all been there when we've lost someone we couldn't imagine being without.
Let's say you were standing opposite as it all played out in front of you. The girl breaks the news to him. He takes it in. Shocked at first, but then pretending he's ok with it - walking away without revealing how he's really feeling.
Chances are, if you were stood opposite watching it all play out, you might even believe his little act for a moment or two.
But what would happen if you kept following him? Past the girl and round the corner, safely out of sight from where the boy left her.
If you were still watching then, you'd see the boy's face fall, his heart sink. And you'd get to see how he was REALLY feeling.
And that's kind of how Belfast works.
It's written so well that of course you know how all the actors are feeling all the way through. But the way Branagh lingers just a little longer than normal (no more than a second or two)... it just seems to capture more emotions in the actors' eyes than your average film, without feeling slow because of it.
The film made me want to go back in time and live when children really did play out in the street, safely and en masse. But it also made me want to grab a chair and pull up on the pavement somewhere busy and just sit and watch people - for that second or two longer than normal.
Because there's something very telling about a person's face if you're not afraid to linger that little bit longer.
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