Excellent, Without a doubt!!

A Disappointing Continuation

I am only giving this movie a 1 for the great cast, though I can't imagine what any of them were thinking. This movie was horrible

Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

"The Cement Garden", based upon a novella by Ian McEwan, deals with a similar theme to that of William Golding's "Lord of the Flies", namely the behaviour of children and adolescents when free of the constraints of adult behaviour. Four siblings from a working-class family - Jack, his older sister Julie, younger sister Sue and the youngest, Tom- are orphaned by the death of their mother, their father having died earlier. In order to stay together and avoid being put into the care of the local authority, they conceal their mother's death by hiding her body in a trunk, filling it with cement and leaving it in the cellar of their house. The story takes place during a hot summer in a bleak, impoverished district of an unnamed British inner city. The children's house, a grim Modernist building, is one of the few remaining in an area marked out for redevelopment, and is surrounded either by soulless tower blocks or by derelict, rubble-strewn wasteland. Their father dies while trying to lay concrete over the garden, one of the few islands of green in the area, hence the title. The book was published in 1978 and in many ways reflects the mood of Britain in the late seventies, a time of economic recession, of industrial unrest, of unemployment, of concern about declining public services and the condition of the inner cities. (The period also saw some of the hottest summers of recent decades). The book was also highly controversial because of the incestuous relationship which develops between Jack and Julie, something which possibly explains why it had to wait until 1993 to be adapted for the screen. Although the seventies were a period of increasing permissiveness in Britain, there was a limit to what the British Board of Film Censors would permit, and incest still seemed to be off-limits. This relationship, however, is an important part of the story; it can be seen as both the ultimate expression of family solidarity and as a conscious rejection of the taboos and conventions of the adult world, so an adaptation which omitted this relationship would not have worked. Another controversial theme of both book and film is what might be called the confusion of gender identity. Tom, who loves to dress as a girl, is presented as a budding transvestite, and both Charlotte Gainsbourg and Andrew Robertson are here made to look remarkably androgynous; her hair is short and his long. Although their characters are named Julie and Jack, they could just as easily be Julian and Jackie. The film was directed by Andrew Birkin, the brother of Jane and therefore Gainsbourg's uncle. (Another family member, Birkin's son Ned, was cast as Tom). Birkin is better known as a screenwriter than as a director, and this is one of only two feature films he has directed. Nevertheless, it is an accomplished piece of work, and the director is able to elicit some excellent performances from his young cast. McEwan's book, despite its desolate urban setting, is not a work of social realism. It can be seen as a modern development of the "Gothic" tradition, abandoning the supernatural elements and exotic settings beloved of Georgian and Victorian Gothic authors, but retaining their fascination with death, decay and the macabre and their emphasis on the darker side of human nature. It is a highly atmospheric piece of writing, and Birkin succeeds well in capturing its eerie, hallucinatory quality; not so much a midsummer night's dream as a midsummer nightmare. This is a film about British working-class life which stands outside the mainstream "kitchen sink" tradition. 8/10

Aspiring production designers and location scouts should take note of "The Cement Garden" (1993) as an example of especially good use of an available on-the-cheap location. Like the equally low-budget "Carnival of Souls", the film owes much of its effectiveness to the creative use of an available location. "The Cement Garden's" outdoor shots should look familiar as Stanley Kubrick used the location back in 1987 for the main battle sequence of "Full Metal Jacket". He used the abandoned Beckton Gasworks just across from the Royal Docks area (Beckton-Silverton London). The area has now been transformed into London City Airport. As a film, "The Cement Garden" could best be described as pretentious (marked by an unwarranted claim to importance or distinction). It is a movie that tries embarrassingly hard to be more than the sum of its parts. The strategy is to introduce shocking and scandalous elements in such a casual way that it will amp up the effect of breaking taboos far beyond what they would otherwise merit. This too owes much to Kubrick (insert "Lolita" here). "The Cement Garden" is what you would get if Gregg Araki remade "Our Mother's House" on a shoestring budget; although it is safe to say Araki would have done a much better job of acting for the camera direction. It is an adaptation of Ian McEwan's controversial novel, but as the adapting was done by Director Andrew Birkin (later to be blamed for "The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc" script), the result is likely to be disappointing to readers of McEwan's book. I recommend the film, although some viewers will not enjoy it most will be mildly shocked and entertained by it. I found viewing possible only in 20 minute segments (not so much because it was painful but because it was not involving enough for me to ignore household interruptions). Since the macabre elements aren't particularly shocking (just a couple of stylish "Blue Velvet" type shots), Birkin must fall back on incest and gender identity. It is one perversion too many and there is no logical connection between the two. The story is about a family of six (mother, father, two daughters and two sons). The older son is meant to look like a girl, the older daughter is meant to look like a boy, and the younger son wants to be a girl. The mother's death occurs a few weeks after the father, and the children conceal her death in an effort to stay together. The story is told from the point of view of the oldest boy, who is turned on by his own reflection and by his tease of an older sister. Since he looks so much more feminine than her, his sexual orientation may actually be straight. The younger sister (who is not involved in any of this) looks perfectly normal but spends a lot of time writing letters to her dead mother. Like "Our Mother's House" (a far better film), an older man is inserted into the story in an effort to make something happen. While a little hard to decipher, the basic themes concern the problems associated with assuming responsibilities before you are emotionally mature enough for them. In fairness, an attempt is made to insert an allegorical element into the film, as the older boy frequently does a voice-over reading of a science fiction story. This is meant to reflect his internal moral struggles but the connection with the events of the story is rather fuzzy. Not surprising since the weak direction builds neither suspense nor convincing characters. But at least there is that great production design. Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.

This amazing ground breaking film is based on Ian McEwan's award winning novel about four children (2 who are in their late teen's) who after the death of their mother fear foster homes and separation and as such keep the death a secret and withdraw into their own shadowy world and whilst that novel is an excellent read, this film offers so much, much more...For a start it features excellent actors including Sinead Cusack who expertly plays the mother, but the real stars of this film are the children: Jack, Julie, Sue and Tom with Jack played by Andrew Robertson and Julie played by Charlotte Gainsbourg both being the main focus of the film and who are both incredibly photogenic and simply steal the show proving what fantastically accomplished young actors they really are.Then there's the films musical score which is absolutely astounding, it's haunting for the best part of the film and tears at your heartstrings at times but it simply oozes atmosphere throughout and just adds to the overall surreal effect of this movie and is the best orchestrated score I have ever heard.Then there's the film itself, which will be familiar if you've read the book, it's commonly thought to be set during the long hot summer of 1976, hottest summer on record being mentioned during the course of the movie but the fashions/styles are more of a 1960's/1970's pastiche. But this is of course a movie for adults and justifies it's 18 rating as it does contain a few shock moments, most notably the ending which although breaks a taboo is handled quite beautifully. Nevertheless there is so many visual treats shown throughout this movie, from the dark atmospheric reaction close ups on Jack's face which are accompanied by that heart string tearing music, to Jack's surreal seaside past dreams/flash-back sequences and not to mention the mothers death, which is upsetting enough to see and feel the youngsters loss, but when Jack and Julie have to move her body it's hard to keep a dry eye at the sight of Jack's despair and as always the movie score builds to see that. There's also the excellent camera work used to highlight the urban ruin that is their home/surroundings and the long shots of the children (notably Jack) walking to and from school are awe inspiring. OK I could go on but that would be a spoiler and you need to watch this movie to really appreciate it anyway.So overall this movie does much more than bring Ian McEwan's novel to the screen and although it has some uncomfortable to watch scenes it is on the whole a very beautiful film which has the effect of growing on you and becomes more enjoyable with each viewing, something you can't say for many films made nowadays. It also truly deserves to be given the label of British Classic as it's been made with such care and to such a high standard with the excellent actors, the astounding musical score, the awe inspiring camera-work and of course the award winning story itself, I really can't praise it highly enough.The only disappointing aspect of this release by Cinema Club is the lack of extras offered, it would have been nice to have a commentary from the main cast as would seeing them reunited to offer their views and memories of the movie. A feature on the making of the movie would have been great, perhaps showing the location used in London and how it appears today and a music only option highlighting the awe inspiring orchestrated musical score would have been a treat too. There's also a rumour that a large scene was deleted from the movie, so having the option to view that would have been nice. Then there's the picture quality, which is of a good standard even when viewed on a large wide-screen TV although it does appear slightly grainy if viewed close up so I doubt it got much of a digital re-mastered makeover and the soundtrack is also good here offered in Dolby Digital Stereo but it would have been so much better if it was in 5.1. OK maybe I'm nitpicking and a second disc full of extras might be a pipe dream but that would have been excellent all the same and who knows maybe one day that will happen.In any case for now it's an absolute treat that Cinema Club has made this movie available on DVD and so don't just take my word for it, buy it and let it attack your senses too, you won't be disappointed and if you don't feel touched by the visuals and music of this powerful drama then your not human.

It's a real pity that 'Name Of The Rose' scriptwriter Andrew Birkin hasn't directed anything since 'The Cement Garden' if this puzzling and disturbing movie is any indication of his talent. Birkin also wrote this superb adaptation of Ian McEwan's perverse and haunting novel. A hypnotic study of a family of children left to fend for themselves, while wrestling with their forbidden desires and obsessions, it crosses over into almost Ballardian territory. The casting of Andrew Robertson and Charlotte Gainsbourg as the androgynous older siblings is the main reason why this odd movie is so successful. To add to the incestuous overtones, Gainsbourg is Birkin's niece, and first gained notoriety duetting with her legendary father Serge on a pop ditty titled "Lemon Incest" while barely in her teens. The layers continue by Birkin casting his own son Ned as the younger cross-dressing brother. This is a very strange and beautiful movie. Highly recommended.