Cement Garden (1994)

A bizarre and compelling story of family secrets based on the novel by Ian McEwan (who also wrote the novel upon which The Comfort of Strangers is based), this British film tells the complex tale of four children who conspire to hide their dead mother's body to avoid being split apart and sent to an orphanage. Their deception works for a while, as they become a self-sufficient family unit. Soon, however, mistrust and a deeply antagonistic relationship between the older siblings rife with sexual overtones, as well as a snooping suitor with designs on the older sister, threaten to destroy their well-constructed facade. Adapted and directed by Andrew Birkin, this offbeat film is disturbing but a riveting find for anyone interested in new discoveries from the world of international film. --Robert Lane Amazon.com

Exquisitely well done

The steadily unabashed, unapologetic tone of this masterpiece makes for compelling viewing. Aside from the tenderly erotic sequences by which it carries off its unrelenting critique of the real world 'out there', with all its double standards and hypocrisies, the spell is woven with depth and panache. The difficulty for the viewer lies in assigning its unrelenting sensuality to mere incest; Andrew Birkin's interpretation of Ian McEwan is superb and very much to the point. March 17, 2008

Hollywood wouldn't dare

Adolescent children conceal the death of their parents from authorities. Finely acted and directed film with view of events through children's mores and attitudes. However, incest subplot may make the film unsuitable for some viewers. Viewers may also enjoy "Nobody Knows" (2004) and "Our Mother's House" (1967). March 10, 2008

AWESOME!

Awesome movie! Give it 6 stars! If you appreciate this genre, this movie is a must have! October 30, 2007

Big Wow

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 can't actually recommend the film although some viewers will enjoy and/or be shocked by it. It somehow manages to be both melodramatic and boring; 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. December 4, 2006

The book it ain't, but it has some redeeming qualities.

The Cement Garden (Andrew Birkin, 1993)

There's a book, and it seems that where there's a book, there's a movie. It is the case that at least ninety-five, some would say closer to ninety-nine percent of the time, the movie is just not as good as the book. I tend to be a bit more liberal than most in that regard, but in this case, while the movie's decent, it has nothing on McEwan's stunning first novel.

Jack (Gormenghast's Andrew Robertson), Julie (Charlotte Gainsbourg, soon to star in the highly anticipated Have Mercy on Us All, based on Fred Vargas' smash hit novel), Sue (Alice Coulthard, in her only screen appearance), and Tom (Ned Birkin, also in his only screen appearance) are four kids living in England. Their father (Munich's Hanns Zischler) dies of a heart attack, and soon after, their mother (Sinead Cusack, recently of V for Vendetta) becomes mysteriously ill. She knows she's dying, and attempts to do as much as she can to make sure the children can survive on their own after her death. The children attempt to do so, in a sort of Lord of the Flies meets The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane way, until Julie gets herself a beau, Derek (veteran TV actor Jochen Horst), which throws Jack-- whose feelings for Julie have become increasingly complex-- into a crisis.

The main difference between the novel and the film is that the kids' mother dies much earlier on in the novel than she does in the film, and so the whole thematic thrust of the novel is forced into roughly half the movie's hour and forty-five minute running time. There's not much chance to do much development there; Birkin chooses to content himself with abbreviating the development of the themes that are birthed when the children start living on their own, and develop those start while everyone's still living as a family. The result isn't a bad film, by any means, but those who have read the novel are likely to find it lacking. Still, there's something about Birkin stocking a film with incestuous undercurrents with his own nieces and nephews that cannot help but invite all sorts of speculation, and there's certainly something to be said for any film that shows off the gorgeous Charlotte Gainsbourg in all her glory. An interesting artifact, but no matter why you're watching it, you're likely to get more out of the book. ** ½ June 7, 2006

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